UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


BIOLOGY* 

LIBRARY 


WORKS  OF 
BRIGADIER-GENERAL   WOODHULL 

PUBLISHED    BY 

JOHN   WILEY  &  SONS 


Military  Hyjrfene  for  Officers  of  the  Line. 

Fourth  Edition,  Rewritten  and  Greatly  Enlarged. 
Large  i2mo,  vi  +  384  pages.     Cloth,  $1.50  net. 


Personal  Hygiene. 

Designed   for   Undergraduates.        12010,   vii'-f-  221 
pages.    Cloth,  $1.00  net. 


MILITARY  HYGIENE 

FOR 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  LINE 


BY 
ALFRED  A.  WOODHULL,  A.M.,  M.D.,  LL.D.  (Princ.) 

BRIGADIER  GENERAL  U.S.  ARMY,  RETIRED;  LATELY  COLONEL 
MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT,  U.S.  ARMY;  GOLD  MEDALLIST, 
MILITARY    SERVICE     INSTITUTION;    SEAMAN 
PRIZE  ESSAYIST;  SOMETIME  LECTURER  ON 
PERSONAL  HYGIENE  AND  ON  GEN- 
ERAL SANITATION,  PRINCETON 
UNIVERSITY 


FOURTH    EDITION 
REWRITTEN  AND   GREATLY  ENLARGED 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN  WILEY  &  SONS 

LOXDOK:   CHAPMAN  &  HALL,  LIMITED 

1909 


l|-#600 


BIOLOGY 
UBRART, 


COPYBIGHT,  1890,  1898,  1904,  1909, 

BY 

ALFRED  A.  WOODHULL 


Stanhope  press 

F.    H.   GILSON     COMPANY 
BOSTON.     U.S.A. 


NOTE   TO   THE    FOURTH   EDITION 

IN  its  original  form  this  work  was  an  abstract  in  detached  para- 
graphs of  lectures  on  Military  Hygiene  given  at  the  Infantry  and 
Cavalry  School  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  1886-'90.  It  is  now  recast 
much  after  the  style  of  those  lectures,  with  such  revision  as  the 
regulations  and  the  progress  of  sanitary  science  require  and  it  is 
sympathetically  offered  to  the  Line  of  the  Army  and  to  the  National 
Guard.  The  constant  effort  has  been  to  answer  the  natural  inquiries 
of  a  line  officer  solicitous  about  his  men.  Subjects  that  belong 
exclusively  to  the  medical  staff  have  been  omitted. 

An  essay  upon  the  care  of  troops  in  the  field,  prepared  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Spanish  war,  is  retained,  revised  and  slightly  ex- 
tended, because  the  convenience  of  concentration  seems  to  justify 
a  repetition  of  what  is  somewhat  disconnectedly  set  forth  in  earlier 
chapters. 

A  work  like  this  must  be  the  expression  of  common  knowledge 
and  can  make  small  claim  to  originality,  but  continual  indebted- 
ness is  gratefully  acknowledged  to  Parkes,  to  his  immediate 
successors,  and  to  contemporary  workers  in  this  field.  Prolonged 
experience  has  tempered  the  opinions  expressed. 

ALFRED  A.  WOODHULL. 
AUGUST,  1909. 


204141 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE    * 

I.   NATURE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  MILITARY  HYGIENE..  1 

II.   DISEASE  AND  BACTERIA 5 

III.  GENERAL  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  SERVICE 9 

IV.  MILITIA,  VOLUNTEERS,  AND  CONSCRIPTS 12 

V.   MILITARY  AGE 16 

VI.   STATURE,  WEIGHT,  VITAL  CAPACITY 20 

VII.   GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT 26 

VIII.    SELECTION  OF  RECRUITS  .,  32 


IX.   GENERAL  PHYSICAL  O~~  \NIZATION  AND  CARE  OF  NEW 

ARMIES I    V 40 

X.    SICKNESS  AND  VIOLENCEUOMPARED 43 

XI.   MILITARY  CLOTHING:  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  MATE- 
RIAL   46 

XII.   MILITARY  CLOTHING  :  APPAREL 56 

XIII.  FOOD  :  ITS  NATURE 81 

XIV.  FOOD:   CONSTITUTION    AND    MANAGEMENT   OF  THE 

RATION 90 

XV.   FOOD  :  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION 106 

XVI.  FOOD:  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION.  .....  119 

XVII.   FOOD  :  VEGETABLE  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION  .  130 

XVIII.   FOOD:  SMALL  PARTS  OF  THE  RATION 136 

XIX.   FOOD:   CANNED  FOODS;   UNOFFICIAL  FOODS;   DIE- 
TETIC DISEASES;  ALCOHOL;  TOBACCO 143 

XX.   SOILS  AND  SITES  .  154 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXI.   BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS  :  CONSTRUCTION 164 

XXII.   BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS  :  AIR  AND  ITS  CONTAMI- 
NATION   169 

XXIII.   BARRACKS     AND     QUARTERS:    VENTILATION    AND 

CARE 178 

XXIV.   CAMPS 199 

XXV.   CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON 216 

XXVI.   MARCHES 243 

XXVII.   WATER 261 

XXVIII.  WATER  AS  A  DISEASE-BEARER 289 

XXIX.     PREVENTABLE  DISEASES:  MALARIA    AND  YELLOW 

FEVER 298 

XXX.    PREVENTABLE  DISEASES:  TYPHOID  FEVER 308 

XXXI.   PREVENTABLE,   COMMUNICABLE,    AND    AVOIDABLE 

DISEASES,  AND  DISINFECTION 320 

XXXII.   THE  CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD. 337 

XXXIII.  ASEPSIS  AS  APPLIED  TO  WOUNDS 361 

XXXIV.  SCHEME   FOR  A   SANITARY   INSPECTION   BY   COM- 

PANY OFFICERS 363 

XXXV.   APPENDIX:  JAPANESE  TRAINING  IN  SANITATION.  .  368 

BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 370 

INDEX.  371 


MILITAKY   HYGIENE   FOR   OFFICERS 
OF   THE   LINE 


NATURE   AND    IMPORTANCE   OF   MILITARY 
HYGIENE 

THE  ordinary  definition  of  Hygiene  is,  a  system  of  prin- 
ciples for  the  preservation  of  health,  and  of  Sanitation  the 
application  of  those  principles.  Military  Hygiene  is  a  con- 
ventional term  covering  both  the  principles  and  Military 
their  practice  as  applied  to  an  army,  and  a  compre-  Hygiene: 
hensive  and  satisfactory  alternative  designation  is  the  Care 
the  Care  of  Troops.  In  the  wider  and  better  sense 
every  military  condition,  exclusive  of  the  active  operations  of 
the  firing  line  itself,  is  more  or  less  affected  by  this  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  whose  final  cause  is  military  efficiency.  In 
the  last  analysis  physical  vigor  is  the  agency  through  which 
martial  enthusiasm  and  intelligent  discipline  become  effective 
under  the  direction  of  competent  generals,  and  as  the  suc- 
cess of  a  campaign  depends  upon  hostile  contact,  actual 
in  battle  or  potential  in  manoeuvres,  so  vigorous  men  are 
required  for  these  operations.  Every  feature  of  military 
supply  and  every  act  required  or  permitted  of  a  soldier,  has 
an  ultimate  bearing  upon  the  fighting  capacity  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  thus  collectively  of  the  army.  Hence  the  ade- 
quate care  of  troops  is  a  serious  and  constant  duty,  often 
prosaic  in  detail,  which  may  be  neglected  but  cannot  be 
renounced,  whose  reward  is  the  development  first  of  the 
simpler  units,  then  of  the  higher  organizations,  and  finally 

1 


2  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

of  the  army  itself.  As  a  rule  the  efficiency  of  a  command 
represents  the  intelligent  attention  it  has  received.  The 
supervision  of  the  soldier's  life,  not  degenerating 
into  irritating  nagging  by  a  weak  and  unstable 
superior,  which  is  almost  as  bad  as  contemptuous  neglect,  is 
an  ever-present  duty  for  the  company  officer  and  is  to  be 
maintained  in  broader  range  over  all  the  higher  groups. 
For  recruits,  and  especially  for  volunteers  abruptly  trans- 
ferred in  large  numbers  from  civil  life  to  the  field,  direct 
supervision  is  particularly  required.  The  responsibility  of 
the  officers  in  immediate  command  increases  with  the  neces- 
sary restriction  of  the  men's  freedom  of  action  under  their 
new  and  unavoidable  limitations.  That  responsibility  is  not 
confined  to  instruction  or  orders  under  arms,  but  runs  coequal 
with  authority  over  every  condition  and  detail  of  military 
life.  This  conception  of  an  officer's  duty  is  very  difficult  for 
Duty  of  the  men  to  realize  and  accept  at  first ;  and  newly- 
officers  appointed  officers  do  not  themselves  always  appre- 
ciate that  they  are  the  guardians  and  protectors,  as  well  as 
the  rulers,  of  the  rank  and  file.  The  officers  are  the  agents 
of  the  state,  and  the  late  Professor  Parkes  very  clearly  ex- 
pressed the  moral  situation  and  the  practical  duty  arising 
from  it,  thus:  "  The  State  employs  a  large  number  of  men, 
whom  it  places  under  its  own  social  and  sanitary  conditions. 
It  removes  from  them  much  of  the  self-control  with  regard 
to  hygienic  rules  which  other  men  possess,  and  is  therefore 
bound  by  every  principle  of  honest  and  fair  contract  to  see 
that  these  men  are  in  no  way  injured  by  its  system.  But 
more  than  this,  it  is  as  much  bound  by  self-interest.  It  has 
been  proved  over  and  over  again  that  nothing  is  so  costly 
in 'all  ways  as  disease,  and  that  nothing  is  so  remunerative 
as  the  outlay  which  augments  health  and  in  doing  so  aug- 
ments the  amount  and  value  of  the  work  done."  The  health 
of  the  enlisted  men  is  in  great  measure  conditioned  by  the 
food,  the  shelter,  the  clothing,  the  exposure,  and  the  innumer- 
able circumstances  and  requirements  which,  for  good  or  ill, 


NATURE  OF  MILITARY  HYGIENE  3 

are  arbitrarily  controlled  by  the  officers  of  one  grade  or 
another  who  exercise  command. 

In  theory  healthy  and  vigorous  men,  such  as  those  who 
may  be  supposed  to  make  up  an  army,  if  subject  to  no  per- 
nicious influence  from  without,  should  always 
remain  healthy  and  vigorous  until  disqualified 
by  injury  or  by  the  gradual  decay  of  age.  The  exceptions, 
negligible  in  a  wide  review,  are  certain  malignant  diseases, 
as  cancer,  and  inherited  infirmities,  as  gout  or  nervous  dis- 
abilities, which  usually  develop  later  than  the  period  of  enlist- 
ment and  whose  immediate  causes  are  not  discernible  by 
our  present  knowledge.  It  is  the  province  of  sanitation  to 
avert  the  physical  deterioration  of  properly  selected  men,  or 
at  least  to  minimize  the  harmful  conditions  to  which  the 
exigencies  of  the  service  may  subject  them.  Conceding  that 
there  would  be  no  sickness  under  ideal  conditions,  the  practical 
relation  that  morbidity  rather  than  mortality,  the  sick  report 
than  the  death  roll,  bears  to  the  efficiency  of  an  army  is  im- 
portant. Morbidity,  that  is  the  sick  rate,  is  one 
of  the  indices  of  military  availability.  Sickness, 
whether  in  garrison  or  in  the  field,  means  an  expenditure 
of  money  and  vital  energy,  multiplied  in  modern  times  by 
humanitarian  care  and  by  refusal  to  turn  adrift  the  tempo- 
rarily disabled.  There  is  no  prompt  substitute  for  a  man 
who  is  ill,  whether  present  or  absent.  Besides  the  unavaila- 
bility of  the  invalids,  their  care  drains  the  resources  of  the 
living  and  very  seriously  limits  the  mobility  of  the  command. 
Typhoid  fever,  for  example,  even  when  not  fatal  represents 
a  loss  of  at  least  three,  and  often  of  six,  months'  service; 
dysentery  is  very  liable  to  recur  and,  recurring,  to  persist; 
certain  infections  will  run  through  a  command,  putting  whole 
organizations  off  duty;  and  all  these  happen  with  no  corre- 
sponding, or  necessary,  loss  to  the  enemy.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  fatalities  of  action  simply  create  vacancies  which  recruits 
may  fill,  while  the  wounded  at  least  do  not  act  as  centres 
for  the  spread  of  other  disabilities,  and  the  casualties  of 


4  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

battle  carry  the  presumption  of  proportionate  hostile  damage. 
Hence  the  activity  of  an  army  may  be  less  interfered  with 
by  the  sudden  death  of  a  number  of  men  than  it  would  be  by 
their  prolonged  illness.  Bearing  in  mind  that  disease  is  not 
spontaneous  in  the  true  sense,  that  all  of  it  follows  the  operation 
of  a  cause  and  that  the  most  is  due  to  extraneous  interference, 
Command  it  is  the  province  of  sanitation  to  control  the 
and  sani-  sick-rate.  Where  that  is  large,  it  reflects  upon 
the  administration  of  the  company  or  superior 
officers;  or  it  shows  that  there  are  conditions  to  be  altered 
or  avoided,  unless  imperative  military  considerations  compel 
endurance.  The  treatment  of  the  sick  is  the  immediate  prov- 
ince of  the  medical  officers,  who  should  also  be  equipped 
with  the  full  theory  of  preventive  medicine,  qualified  to  ex- 
plain what  should  be  done  to  avoid  such  ineffectiveness; 
and  it  is  particularly  necessary  that  in  his  exercise  of  com- 
mand the  line  officer  should  remove  the  indirect  as  well  as 
the  direct  causes  of  ill-health.  The  military  hospitals  that 
show  a  high  admission-rate  but  a  low  death-rate  usually 
indicate  unnecessary  agents  of  disease  and  a  skilful  clinical 
force;  but  where  the  admission-rate  is  low  an  efficient  mili- 
tary administration  is  usually  combined  with  natural  or 
artificial  sanitary  advantages.  When  the  medical  officers 
invite  attention  to  the  physical  causes  of  ill-health,  especially 
to  such  as  are  obscure,  their  opinions  should  receive  respectful 
consideration.  But  every  officer  of  the  line  should  possess 
among  his  qualifications  for  command  not  merely  appreciation 
of  the  importance  to  the  troops  of  vigorous  health,  but  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  ordinary  conditions  which  interfere  with  it. 
Because  an  army  is  a  vital  machine,  its  effective  operation 
demands  careful  and  constant  recognition  of  whatever  may 
affect  that  vitality. 


II 

DISEASE   AND   BACTERIA 

Diseases  are  not  distinct  entities  which  may  be  introduced 
into  the  system  or  be  withdrawn  from  it  as  such.  The 
popular  impression  that  a  fever,  an  inflamma- 
tion,  or  other  actual  disease  enters  the  body  sub- 
stantively,  and  may  be  manipulated  or  destroyed,  be  driven 
out,  independently  of  physiological  processes,  is  a  misappre- 
hension, although  it  is  a  convenient  form  of  speech.  The 
basis  of  truth  in  it  is  that  the  disturbance  of  bodily  function 
which  is  called  disease  is  frequently  set  up  by  foreign  material, 
by  something  alien  to  the  body  itself.  The  disease  is  not 
imported,  but  it  is  due  to  the  operation  of  an  imported  agent. 
This  distinction,  which  is  more  than  a  verbal  one,  is  neces- 
sary to  remember.  Thus,  cholera  as  cholera  is  not  trans- 
ferred from  one  person  to  another,  but  there  may  enter  the 
body  a  microscopical  agent  which,  later,  induces  that  group 
of  symptoms  called  cholera.  The  importance  of  the  distinc- 
tion lies  in  the  fact  that  the  disease-cause,  not  the  disease 
itself,  may  be  destroyed  while  in  transit  from  one  victim  to 
another  or  it  may  be  completely  avoided.  An  individual 
attack,  or  an  epidemic,  is  averted  by  the  destruction  of,  or 
escape  from,  the  invisible  agent  while  it  is  yet  out  of  the  body. 
These  physical  antecedents  whose  introduction  is  followed 
by  disease  are  numerous  and  diverse.  Thus,  consumption 
is  due  to  a  minute  organism  which  excites  local 
and  destructive  inflammation  in  the  lungs  or  other 
part  of  the  body  where  it  may  lodge;  tetanus,  or  lockjaw, 
to  another;  diphtheria  to  another;  and  so  through  a  consider- 
able list.  These  disturbing  organisms  are  of  a  low  order  of 

5 


6  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

vegetable  life  known  as  bacteria.  An  entirely  distinct  class, 
also  capable  of  inciting  serious  diseases,  are  animal  in  origin 
and  are  called  plasmodia  (singular  plasmodium).  Taken 
together  these  infinitesimal  objects  are  commonly  but  unphil- 
osophically  called  "  germs."  The  germ  is  not  the  disease, 
but  it  sets  the  disease  in  operation;  as  the  coral  insect  does 
not  wreck  the  ship,  but  the  coral  reef  for  which  it  is  responsi- 
ble may  destroy  the  vessel.  It  is  not  to  be  understood  that 
all  diseases  are  as  yet  recognized  as  due  to  such  causes,  but 
there  are  so  many  and  these  so  grave  which  do  depend  upon 
them  (and  the  list  is  constantly  growing),  that  an  outline 
knowledge  of  their  character  is  necessary  for  the  understand- 
ing of  some  of  the  principles  of  sanitation. 

All  animal  and  vegetable  life,  that  is  all  organic  life,  is 
carried  on  by  the  functioning  of  minute  cells.  Bacteria 
(singular  bacterium)  is  a  general  name  for  infini- 
tesimal plants,  whose  subdivisions  are  bacilli, 
cocci,  and  so  forth,  and  these  under  favorable  conditions 
multiply  prodigiously.  The  most  of  them  are  beneficent 
to  man  by  disintegrating  dead  organic  matter  and  setting  at 
liberty  such  chemical  elements  as  they  do  not  use  for  them- 
selves. The  decomposition  of  carcasses,  the  direct  nutrition 
of  growing  vegetation,  the  fixation  of  free  nitrogen  from  the 
air  for  supply  of  plant-growth,  are  accomplished,  and  accom- 
plished only,  by  bacterial  action.  In  view  of  the  great  multi- 
tude of  bacteria  comparatively  few  species  are  pathogenetic, 
that  is,  are  disease-producing  and  hurtful  to  animal  and 
especially  to  human  life.  These  are  of  special  types  and  of 
various  degrees  of  virulence,  and  they  effect  their  mischief 
by  the  generation  of  products  known  as  ptoma- 
ines, or  toxins,  whose  action  leads  to  disease. 
Some  of  these  hurtful  bacteria  are  specific  and  lead  to  particular 
illnesses,  and  others  act  merely  as  temporary  irritants.  It 
is  probable  that  in  many  cases  there  is  sufficient  natural  vigor 
to  withstand  the  more  common  of  the  hurtful  bacteria,  so 


DISEASE  AND  BACTERIA  7 

that  only  those  persons  who  for  the  time  or  constitutionally 
have  less  than  normal  resistance  succumb  to  them.  Other- 
wise such  a  disease  as  consumption,  taken  as  an  example, 
would  be  still  more  prevalent  than  it  is.  It  must  be  that  in 
most  cases  the  bacillus  of  tuberculosis  is  destroyed  or  neutral- 
ized within  the  body  before  it  makes  a  lodgment.  But  many 
such  bacteria  overcome  all  natural  defence. 

Immunity  from  a  second  attack  of  the  contagious  diseases 
which  most  commonly  prevail  over  those  who  are  first  ex- 
posed, probably  depends  upon  a  positive  change         . 
in  the  circulating  fluids,  due  to  the  presence  of 
anti-toxins  generated  during  the  first  attack.     Acting  upon 
this   theory,    an   antagonistic   condition   artificially   creating 
immunity  may  be  established  in  certain  diseases,  of  which 
tetanus  and  diphtheria  are  good  examples,  by  the  injection 
of  an  anti-toxin  artificially  developed  in  the  lower  animals. 
Through  such  means  persons  not  yet  attacked  but  liable 
to  exposure  also  may  be  rendered  immune,  and  epidemics 
threatening   wide   disaster   be    aborted.     Although   bacteria 
do  not  float  free  in  the  atmosphere,  they  are  prac-    omnipres- 
tically  omnipresent  because  they  adhere   to    all    ence  of 
animate  and  inanimate    objects,  particularly    to    bacteria 
dust,  buoyant  or  at  rest,  to  furniture,  to  clothing,  and  to  the 
human  body.     They  are  so  microscopically  small  that  any 
visible  aerial  mote  may  bear  multitudes.     They  are  more 
numerous  in  proportion  to  the  abundance  of  filth,  and  although 
filth  in  itself  does  not  seem  to  create  malignancy,  it  does 
afford  special  opportunity  for  the  development  of    conditions 
malignant    bacteria    once   they  are    established,    favorable  to 
Some  varieties  of  bacteria  antagonize  and  destroy    bacteria 
others,  and    all    require   for   their  activity  moderate  heat, 
moisture,    available    oxygen,   and    organic   matter.      When 

conditions  are  unfavorable   to    active    bacterial 

Spores 
development,  the  vital  properties  may  concentrate 

into  what  is  known  as  a  spore,  and  the  spores  may  remain 
for  indefinite  periods  inert  but  capable  of  being  aroused  into 


8  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

renewed  activity.  Natural  cold  does  not,  but  heat  near 
the  boiling-point  of  water  moderately  prolonged  does,  destroy 
Conditions  their  vitality.  Scrupulous  cleanliness  is  unfavor- 
unfavorable  able  for  the  development  of  bacteria;  appropriate 
to  bacteria  disinfectants  directly  applied  either  destroy  them 
or  limit  their  multiplication  so  as  materially  to  lessen  the 
risk;  and  sunlight,  direct  or  diffused,  particularly  in  the  ab- 
sence of  moisture,  is  an  efficient  disinfectant,  or,  as  commonly 
styled,  germicide.  Mere  deodorizing,  or  masking  the  foul 
smell  of  the  filth  which  may  foster  disease-causes,  is  not  to 
be  mistaken  for  disinfection,  nor  will  time  and  exposure  to 
sunlight  in  dry  air  always  secure  safety.  These  general  facts, 
as  the  essential  reason  for  that  cleanliness  which  characterizes 
the  better  troops,  should  always  be  remembered  and  acted 
upon. 


Ill 

GENERAL   REQUIREMENTS   FOR    SERVICE 

The  whole  military  fabric  rests  upon  the  physical  character 
of  those  who  compose  it,  for  neither  enthusiasm  nor  intelli- 
gence may  be  substituted  for  vigor  of  body  and  . 
mobility  of  limb.     Nevertheless,  along  with  physi- 
cal fitness  the  recruit  should  possess  a  sufficiently  alert  mind 
for  the  development  of  the  individual  self-reliance 
and  dash  which  are  replacing  the  older  confidence 
of  solid  ranks  and  the  momentum  of  armed  masses.     No 
precise  measure  of  intelligence  can  be  formulated  beyond  the 
official  standard  of  literacy  and  the  required  testimonials  of 
character,  but  care  must  be  taken  to  exclude  men  who  appear 
incapable    of   appreciating   the   improved   weapons   and   of 
discharging   the   responsible   duties   of  the   modern   soldier. 
To  accept  men  of  known  bad  character  works 
injury  to  the  service  by  admitting  those  sure  to 
make  trouble;    and  the  occasional  effort  of  civil  authorities 
to   purge   their   communities   of  undesirable   characters   by 
presenting  enlistment  as  an  alternative  to  imprisonment,  is 
an  insult  to  be  resented  in  behalf  of  the  rank  and  file  and  an 
offer  to  be  rejected  however  stalwart  the  appli- 
cant.    That  is,  the  material  must  be  selected;  for 
not    every    chance  applicant  is  fit  for  enlistment,  and  ac- 
cepted recruits  must  be  capable  of  becoming  qualified  for  the 
sustained  effort  which  war  more  and  more  insistently  demands. 
The  popular  assumption    that   every  full-grown  man  who 
supports  himself  by  severe  manual  labor  may,  on    strength 
that  account,  become  an  efficient  soldier,  is  not    alone  in- 
true.    Although  he  may  be  accustomed  to  vigorous    Iraffici61lt 
work,  the  applicant's  joints  may  not  be  flexible,  his  senses 
may  not  be  keen,  and  sometimes  his  internal  organs  may  not 

9 


10  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

be  sound.  A  man  who  accomplishes  a  great  deal  of  labor  by 
following  his  own  methods  may  nevertheless  be  entirely  unfit 
for  the  ranks,  so  that,  misled  by  evidence  of  strength,  an 
inexperienced  officer  sometimes  mistakes  gross  vigor  for  special 
fitness.  With  attention,  an  officer  of  the  line  may  satisfy 
himself,  as  presently  to  be  pointed  out,  of  the  mobility  of  the 
Recruiting  joints,  of  the  absence  of  disqualifying  cranial 
officer's  injuries,  of  the  range  and  quality  of  vision  and 
inspection  audition.  He  may  do  more  and  determine  the 
character  of  the  man's  breathing  and  his  vital  capacity, 
which  together  constitute  the  most  important  factors  in  the 
make-up  of  a  recruit. 

When  recruits  are  most  in  demand,  particularly  as  new 
regiments  are  being  sent  into  the  field,  there  is  frequent 
Lowered  temptation  to  relax  the  necessary  rules,  an  error 
standard  which  always  weakens  the  organization.  It  also 
happens  that  second-rate  men  sometimes  are  enlisted  by 
special  authority  on  account  of  their  skill  as  craftsmen,  but 
such  can  never  be  depended  on  in  the  field  and  will  certainly 
be  absent  in  battle.  It  also  occasionally  occurs  that  inferior 
men  are  accepted  because  of  pressure  to  fill  rapidly  a  particular 
command.  Usually  there  will  follow  greater  pressure  for  the 
discharge  of  those  very  men,  and  this  cannot  be  successfully 
resisted  if  the  enlistment  was  inconsiderately  permitted. 
When  in  doubt  about  a  recruit,  the  cardinal  rule  is  to  reject. 
There  is  a  moral  obligation  to  enlist  no  man  whom  the  recruit- 
ing officer  would  be  unwilling  to  have  in  his  own  company. 
Some  grace  may  be  extended  toward  men  with  blemishes 
contracted  in  a  previous  enlistment  which  do  not  affect 
organic  soundness,  who  reengage  within  the  definite  period 
Eeenlist-  which  limits  reenlistment.  That  is  because  their 
ments  training,  their  habits  of  discipline,  and  their 

acquaintance  with  the  military  life  compensate  for  non-vital 
physical  deficiencies.  But  a  blemished  ex-soldier  who  has 
allowed  the  period  for  technical  reenlistment  to  lapse,  should 
only  be  accepted  in  peace  after  very  careful  consideration; 


GENERAL  REQUIREMENTS  FOR  SERVICE  11 

because  the  presumption  is  that  he  returns  to  the  colors  as  a 
last  resort,  and  not  from  a  natural  bent.     In  every  instance 
all  variations  from  the  standard,  whether  they  are  natural 
or  artificial,   should  be   carefully  noted  on  the  enlistment 
papers.     Vegetius,  writing  of  the  Roman  forces  in  the  year 
300  A.  D.,  declared  that  "an  army  raised  without 
due  regard  to  the  choice  of  recruits  was  never 
yet  made  a  good  army  by  any  length  of  service."     That  is 
as  entirely  true  now  as  it  always  has  been,  and  importance 
recruiting  is  therefore  a  serious  duty  to  be  conscien-  of  recruiting 
tiously  and  intelligently  executed,  for  "an  army  consists  of 
the  bayonets  in  the  field,  not  the  names  on  the  muster-roll." 


IV 

MILITIA,  VOLUNTEERS,  CONSCRIPTS 

Besides  and  behind  the  regulars  and  the  volunteers,  the 
permanent  and  the  temporary  troops  to  whom  this  book 
The  militia  cl^eflv  applies,  is  the  militia.  In  general  terms 
all  male  citizens  and  male  residents  who  have 
declared  their  intention  to  become  citizens,  between  eighteen 
and  forty-five  years  of  age,  fit  for  the  military  service,  consti- 
tute the  militia.  The  organized  militia  is  that  part  of  this 
body  which  is  enlisted,  equipped,  and  organized  as  the  military 
arm  of  the  respective  states  and  undergoes  training  as  such. 
It  participates  annually  in  an  appropriation  which  is  dis- 
tributed by  the  general  government  under  certain  conditions. 
The  unorganized  remainder  of  these  able-bodied  men  is  the 
reserve  militia.  It  is  the .  organized  militia,  with  which  the 
officers  of  the  respective  states  are  directly,  and  those  of 
the  army  may  be  indirectly,  concerned.  These  organizations 
The  organ-  resemble  military  clubs,  membership  in  many  of 
ized  militia  which  is  acquired  through  community  of  taste 
rather  than  by  physical  examination,  and  proficiency  in 
whose  operations  follows  the  stimulus  of  emulation  more 
than  the  obligation  of  discipline.  Their  primary  public 
function  is  the  enforcement  of  the  civil  authority  against 
mobs,  or  the  protection  of  property  on  occasions  of  public 
disorder.  Usually  such  duty  is  not  protracted,  nor  does  it 
involve  prolonged  physical  exposure  or  absence  from  a  con- 
venient base.  But  in  great  emergencies  the  organized  militia 
is  liable  to  be  called  forth  by  the  President,  for  a  period  not 
exceeding  nine  months,  to  assist  in  executing  the  laws  of 
the  United  States  or  to  form  a  line  of  national  defence.  For 
this  reason  these  organizations  are  subsidized  by  the  general 

12 


MILITIA,    VOLUNTEERS,   CONSCRIPTS  13 

government  and  undergo  some  supervision  by  its  officers. 
The  diverse  character  of  the  militia's  possible  duties  suggests  a 
double  standard  of  bodily  fitness.  For  ordinary  armory  duty, 
street  service,  or  that  in  camps  of  instruction,  physical 
rigid  physical  examination  would  be  superfluous  fitness 
and  might  be  deterrent,  and  minors  may  safely  be  accepted 
because  of  the  slight  prospect  of  overstrain.  Besides,  young 
men  are  more  tractable  and  have  greater  interest  in  these 
operations  than  those  who  are  older.  They  learn  the  drill 
more  easily  and  take  more  pride  in  excelling  in  it,  and  gener- 
ally the  men  who  reenlist  are  those  who  have  earlier  associa- 
tions of  this  kind  to  maintain.  Accordingly,  militia  recruits 
are  apt  to  be  youths  who  thus  become  "  soldiers  "  to  demon- 
strate their  maturity  and  to  indulge  a  natural  desire  for  dis- 
play by  wearing  uniform.  Therefore,  in  order  not  to  make 
enlistment  too  difficult,  the  physical  examination  frequently 
is  superficial,  chiefly  designed  to  exclude  obviously  disquali- 
fying defects.  In  some  states  the  judgment  of  the  individual 
examiner,  and  not  a  fixed  standard,  determines  eligibility; 
and  this  is  probably  sufficient  if  the  examiner  is  familiar  with 
the  duty  to  be  required  and  is  interested  in  keeping  the  com- 
mand efficient.  With  youths  who  have  not  attained  their 
development  and  to  whom  these  exercises  are  an  avocation 
and  not  a  vocation,  it  would  seem  unreasonable  to  insist  upon 
the  standard  weight  and  certain  other  excellences  state 
which  a  vigorous  soldier  should  possess.  It  would  standards 
be  still  more  unreasonable  to  reduce  the  regular  standard  in 
order  to  include  the  militia.  It  is  even  possible  that  for  minors 
in  the  state  service  a  diminished  chest  capacity  might  be 
accepted.  As  long  as  the  command  is  responsible  merely 
to  the  state  (as  distinguished  from  the  United  States)  it  would 
appear  judicious  to  establish  a  rather  low  minimum  standard 
for  that  service,  rigidly  to  require  that  minimum  to  be  at- 
tained, and  to  note  in  the  descriptive  book  the  deficiencies 
of  those  unfit  for  prolonged  field  service.  Those  in  the  lower 
grade  may  gradually  develop  so  as  to  reach  the  higher,  as 


14  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

determined  by  annual  reexaminations,  until  the  regular 
standard  is  reached  and  the  record  amended  accordingly. 
There  is  no  recognized  provision  for  such  action,  but  state 
regulation  might  authorize  it  when  the  embarrassment  of 
attempting  to  put  in  the  field  ranks  that  must  prove  inade- 
quate would  be  avoided.  Some  states,  however,  constantly 
maintain  a  high  physical  standard. 

But  the  President  may  call  the  organized  militia,  as  such, 
into  active  service  as  part  of  the  United  States  forces.  As 
Militia  in  their  organization  is  similar  to  that  of  the  army, 
active  ser-  in  theory  this  provides  for  mustering-in  such 
7109  commands  without  dislocating  their  own  economy 

or  disturbing  that  of  the  permanent  establishment.  The 
only  condition  which  the  law  makes  in  thus  accepting  the 
militia  is  the  vital  proviso  that  the  officers  and  men  shall  in- 
dividually "  be  found  fit  for  military  service."  This  implies 
an  adequate  physical  examination  at  the  time  of  the  muster- 
in,  and  upon  that  examination  will  depend  much  of  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  transferred  forces.  If  it  is  inadequate,  the  rolls 
may  be  encumbered  with  mere  names  and  the  ranks  will  be 
weak  from  the  absent  sick.  When  therefore  the  organized 
militia  are  to  be  mustered-in,  their  physical  vigor  should  be 
assured.  This  is  the  more  important  because  at  the  best 
such  service  will  be  short,  with  little  time  to  waste  over  de- 
fectives or  to  develop  the  immature. 

Volunteers,  men  who  in  time  of  war  pass  into  the  military 
service  for  such  limited  periods  as  the  law  may  define  (usually 
Volunteers  ^wo  years,  unless  peace  is  declared  sooner),  are 
and  con-  to  be  examined  as  regulars  would  be.  In  time 
scripts  of  grea£  public  peril  conscription  may  be  enforced, 
when  the  conscripts,  or  the  substitutes  they  may  present, 
also  are  to  be  vigorously  inspected  with  a  bias  toward  accept- 
Hopes  of  ance.  A  fundamental  distinction,  which  divides 
recruits  war-recruits  into  two  classes,  is  always  to  be  re- 
membered. One  class  desires  acceptance,  one  hopes  for  rejec- 
tion. Citizens  who  do  ordinary  militia  duty  cheerfully  and 


MILITIA,    VOLUNTEERS,   CONSCRIPTS  15 

efficiently  and  who  are  perfectly  fit  for  the  field,  may  fear 
that  nine  months'  active  service  will  be  detrimental  or  dis- 
astrous to  their  private  interests,  and  may  be  tempted  to 
exhibit  blemishes  hitherto   unsuspected  by  their  associates, 
with   the   suggestion   that   these   would   become   disabilities 
under  strain.     The  scrutiny  must  be  just  and  the  men  who 
are  fit  are  to  be  held  to  that  contract  with  the  state 
which    implies    this    possibility    of    active    duty. 
Others,  not  realizing  what  war  means,  in  their  anxiety  to 
engage  in  it  seek  to  conceal  weaknesses  which  presently  may 

disqualify.     The  exception  to  critical  scrutiny  of 

._/.  J         Its  exception 

the   militia  is   the   rare   but  possible    emergency 

when  every  man  who  can  bear  arms,  if  only  for  a  time,  must 
be  hurried  into  the  first  line  for  immediate  defence.  When, 
as  sometimes  happens,  militia  regiments  offer  them-  Regiments 
selves  collectively  as  regiments  of  volunteers,  the  volunteering 
physical  examination  should  be  critical,  for  the  enthusiasm 
of  contagion  stimulates  the  applicants  to  appear  at  their  best. 
Such  regiments  differ  greatly  in  their  physical  efficiency,  not 
only  in  different  states  but  sometimes  within  the  same  state. 
Roughly  speaking  it  requires  three  regiments  of  the  organized 
militia  to  form  one  efficient  regiment  of  volunteers;  although 
as  the  physical  selection  of  the  state  troops  increases  in  rigor, 
this  disparity  will  decrease. 

Notwithstanding  that  whenever  enlistments  are  voluntary 
the  rule  is  to  reject  when  in  doubt,  when  conscription  is  en- 
forced this  precept  is  directly  reversed.  Then 
the  Government  should  have  the  benefit  of  the 
doubt,  for  the  conscript  will  magnify  every  physical  irregu- 
larity in  his  effort  to  avoid  service.  Besides,  conscription 
implies  a  national  emergency  and  need  for  a  very  large  army; 
so  that  under  a  somewhat  reduced  standard  a  moderate  per- 
centage of  tolerable,  not  unhealthy,  men  may  be  utilized  in 
necessary  but  inconspicuous  places.  In  justice  to  both  the 
man  and  the  public  every  deviation  from  the  type  is  to  be 
carefully  entered  in  the  soldier's  description. 


MILITARY  AGE 

The  legal  minimum  age  for  recruits  is  eighteen  years  and  the 
maximum  in  peace  is   thirty-five.     There  is   no   maximum 

limit    for   subsequent    enlistments.     In    war   the 
Age  limits  . 

maximum  age  for  first  enlistments  is  liable  to  be 

raised  according  to  the  exigency.  The  age  limits  of  the 
militia  are  eighteen  and  forty-five  years,  but  in  the  Civil  War 
men  were  drafted  only  between  twenty  and  forty-five.  The 
authority  to  enlist  a  minor  with  his  parents'  consent,  and  this 
should  be  construed  also  to  govern  the  muster-in  of  a  minor 
militiaman,  is  subject  to  the  important  proviso 
that  he  is  in  all  respects  the  equal  of  a  man  of 
twenty-one.  Here  recruiting  officers  are  very  liable  to  be 
misled,  for  it  rarely  happens  that  such  a  lad  responds  to  the 
test  of  the  field.  Notwithstanding  some  youths  of  eighteen 
or  nineteen  have  the  physical  figure  of  others  two  or  three 
years  older,  their  endurance  cannot  be  determined  by  the 
measuring-tape  or  the  balance.  It  is  upon  physique  plus 
endurance  that  corporeal  efficiency  rests.  In  any  particular 
instance  the  probability  is  against  the  minor  being  an  excep- 
tion who  has  prematurely  attained  adult  vigor;  and  all 
military  experience  supports  this  physiological  theory  in 
objecting  to  minors  for  active  service.  The  record  of  im- 
Immature  mature  recruits  is  uniformly  that  of  inefficiency 
recruits  and  disease.  Thus  Napoleon  after  Leipsic  (1813) 
demanded  " grown  men;  boys  serve  only  to  fill  the  hospitals 
and  encumber  the  roadside."  In  the  Crimea  (1854-5)  Lord 
Raglan  responded  to  the  notice  that  two  thousand  recruits 
awaited  his  call,  that  "those  last  sent  were  so  young  and 
unformed  that  they  fell  victims  to  disease  and  were  swept 

16 


MILITARY  AGE  17 

away  like  flies,  so  that  he  preferred  to  wait"  rather  than  to 
have  lads  shipped  to  him  as  soldiers.  Lord  Hardinge  writes 
of  the  same  campaign  that  "although  no  men  were  sent  under 
nineteen  years  of  age,  yet  when  sent  out  it  was  found  that 
instead  of  being  composed  of  bone  and  muscle  they  were 
almost  gristle."  Falsification  of  age  is  very  common  where 
minors  may  legally  be  enlisted.  In  Egypt,  in  1798,  the  68th 
British  from  Bombay  was  composed  chiefly  of  boys.  They 
lost  nearly  half  their  number  from  fever  which  broke  out  on 
their  passage  and  they  continued  so  sickly  that  they  were 
reembarked  and  sent  back.  But  the  61st,  over  nine  hundred 
strong,  nearly  all  old  soldiers,  who  were  sixteen  weeks  aboard 
ship,  landed  with  only  one  man  sick.  We  do  not  know  the 
condition  of  the  respective  transports  and  the  supervision 
the  men  received,  but  the  element  of  age  must  have  been  an 
important,  if  not  a  controlling,  factor.  In  the  Peninsular 
War  (1805-14)  three  hundred  men  seasoned  and  matured  by 
five  years'  service  were  reckoned  more  effective  than  a  thou- 
sand lads  received  as  recruits.  Our  own  medical  officers  in 
Mexico  (1847)  constantly  reported  that  the  inferior  physique 
and  especially  the  youth  of  the  recruits  materially  swelled 
the  lists  of  the  sick  and  the  dead.  In  General  Roberts's 
march  from  Kabul  to  Kandahar  (1880)  "it  was  the  young 
soldiers  who  succumbed  to  its  fatigues,  while  the  old  sol- 
diers became  hardier  and  stronger  every  day."  The  Franco- 
German  experience  (1871)  coincided  with  the  earlier  records. 
There  are  no  authentic  statistics  that  show  the  relative 
influence  of  age  upon  disability  in  the  field  during  the  Civil 
War,  but  all  officers  who  served  with  troops  then  will  agree  in 
the  general  statement  that  the  very  young  men  were  those 
who,  as  a  rule,  first  broke  down  under  exposure  and  hardship, 
as  would  naturally  be  expected.  Even  in  peace  the  official 
reports  show  that  the  sick-rate  of  those  under  twenty-five 
greatly  exceeds  the  mean  for  the  whole  army.  In  discussing 
the  defectives  in  the  Philippines  during  and  after  the  insurrec- 
tion of  1899-1900,  Birmingham  ranks  immaturity  as  foremost 


18  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

among  the  agencies  of  depression,  and  says:  "The  number 
of  undeveloped  boys,  ranging  in  age  from  17  to  21,  met  with 
in  the  hospitals,  whose  only  chance  for  life  lay  in  building  up 
their  strength  sufficiently  to  admit  their  being  put  on  the  first 
transport  sailing  for  home,  was  simply  deplorable."  Personal 
observation  entirely  agrees  with  this.  A  private  letter  from 
a  medical  officer  of  experience  reports:  "A  large  majority 
of  the  men  (or  boys)  invalided  home  from  the  Philippines 
were  in  their  first  or  second  year  of  service,"  which  implies 
that  the  disability  was  primarily  due  to  immaturity.  As 
Marshall  has  explained,  partly  from  experience  and  partly 
in  prophecy,  "This  general  assent  shows  how  wrong  it  is  to 
expect  any  great  and  long-continued  exercise  of  force  from 
lads  as  young  as  18  or  20,  and  the  inevitable  consequences 
of  taxing  them  beyond  their  strength."  Hence  it  is  the 
recruiting  officer's  duty  to  accept  after  critical  examination 
only  those  who  will  probably  become  vigorous  and  active 
soldiers,  for  "nothing  is  so  expensive  as  an  unhealthy  military 
force"  (Farr),  and  "it  is  more  important  that  a  soldier  should 
be  strong  than  that  he  should  be  tall"  (Vegetius).  On  the 
other  hand,  young  men  are  much  more  easily  trained  and 
moulded,  both  in  body  and  mind,  than  those  who  are  older, 
Advantage  and  this  is  particularly  true  for  the  mounted 
of  youth  service.  When  properly  led,  young  men  will 
fight  as  well  and  sometimes  with  more  dash,  as  far  as  mere 
physical  courage  goes,  than  their  seniors.  But  as  under  our 
military  system  great  bodies  of  troops  are  only  raised  for  the 
emergency  of  sudden  war,  large  reserves  of  young  soldiers,  in 

training  for  several  years  for  such  an  emergency, 

No  reserves  .*  ' 

are  not  possible,  and  therefore  immature  recruits 

must  be  rejected.  Moreover,  older  men  have  better  judgment 
and  greater  endurance,  and  hence  are  more  to  be  depended 
Practical  upon  after  they  have  acquired  discipline.  The 
minimum  most  efficient  field  armies  have  always  maintained 
their  minimum  age  at  twenty-two  years,  and  it  is  more  truly 
economical  to  reject  a  few  exceptional  youths  who  might 


MILITARY  AGE  19 

withstand     campaigning   than    to    risk    accepting   plausible 
enthusiasts  who  probably  would  be  prostrated.     The  enlist- 
ment, at  a  lower  rate  of  pay,  of  battalions  of  military  ap- 
prentices between  the  age  of  18  and  21,  as  once    Military 
proposed  for  the  army  and  as  is  successfully  done    apprentices 
in  the  navy,  who  should  be  trained  and  kept  occupied  with 
practical  but  not  exhausting  work  at  home,  would  provide 
a  reserve  from  which,  in  time  of  peace,  the  ranks  of  the  line 
could  be  filled  with  excellent  soldiers  and  the  minors  now 
unwisely  enlisted  would  be  completely  replaced.      But    no 
such  scheme  would  be  available  in  war.       While  immature 
men  should  not  be  accepted  for  service,  neither  are  too  old 
men  good  recruits.      The  regulation  limit  in  peace  of  35  is 
the  extreme  under  ordinary  conditions  (and  few    Maximum 
learn  efficient  horsemanship  after  30),  although  in    a£° 
war  recruits  who  are  physically  sound  may  legally  be  accepted 
up  to  45.     But  as  they  approach  30,  common  laborers  are 
liable  to  become  stiffened  in  body  and  dulled  in  mind  and 
to  acquire  a  rigidity   difficult   to   overcome.     For  instance, 
in   the   Spanish   War   miners  from   the  anthracite  fields  of 
Pennsylvania,  although   stalwart   in   body   and  accustomed 
to  severe  labor,  proved  as  a  class  unadaptable  and  unac- 
ceptable recruits.     Many  such  men   have  infirm-    xjnfitness 
ities  which  do  not  materially  interfere  with  their    from  age 
daily    work,    but   which    would    unfit    them   for    and  labor 
bearing  arms.     As  a  rule,  few  men  approaching  middle  age, 
who    enlist    for    the    first    time,    accommodate    themselves 
without  distress,  if  at  all,  to  the  strain  of  the  field. 


VI 

STATURE,  WEIGHT,  AND  VITAL  CAPACITY 

In  the  popular  view  and  in  that  of  some  officers,  the  typical 
soldier  is  tall.  But  existing  orders  practically  and  properly 
Stature  exclude  very  tall  men  by  the  required  relation 

between  weight  and  height.  Exceedingly  tall 
men,  in  whose  favor  an  exception  may  be  authorized  by  the 
War  Department,  serve  only  an  ornamental  purpose  as  drum- 
majors.  Six  feet  is  practically  the  maximum  permissible 
height,  and  the  best  all-around  soldiers  in  the  ranks  are 
between  sixty-six  and  seventy  inches  in  stature.  Even  were 
there  no  regulation,  tall  young  men  would  be  objectionable, 
because  their  height  is  often  acquired  without  a  correspondence 
in  bulk  and  at  the  expense  of  vigor  in  the  heart  and  lungs. 
A  soldier  is  a  machine  of  two  parts:  legs  and  arms,  offensive; 
Extremities  chest  and  abdomen,  vital.  Within  the  chest  and 
and  great  abdomen  is  generated  the  power  that  makes  the 

limbs  formidable,  so  that  an  ill-proportioned  tall 
man  is  undesirable  as  a  soldier.  One  who  is  tall  by  virtue 
of  his  legs  alone  will  become  tired  the  sooner,  and  hence  will 
march  poorly.  This  is  partly  because  his  muscles  are  rela- 
tively smaller  and  the  levers  they  operate,  the  bones,  are  longer 
than  those  in  a  shorter  man,  and  partly  because  he  almost 
certainly  has  a  comparatively  smaller  chest  and  abdomen 
in  which  probably  less  vital  force  is  produced.  The  relative 
capacity  of  the  chest,  as  explained  later,  is  the  main  index 
of  the  potential  energy  of  the  individual.  It  can  hardly  be 
repeated  too  frequently  that  physical  vigor  is  the  first  essential 
of  a  combatant  force.  It  is  an  axiom  as  old  as  the  Romans 
that  the  strongest  army  is  the  best  army,  and  under  modern 
conditions  the  test  of  strength  is  marching.  Certainly  the 

20 


STATURE,   WEIGHT,   AND   VITAL  CAPACITY         21 

troops  that  march  the  best  are  the  most  valuable,  and  on 
them  the  generals  must  depend.  It  was  the  marching  ability 
of  Ord's  infantry  that  made  Appomattox  possible. 

There  are  three  required  physical  qualifications  for  every 
recruit  which  are  fixed  by  regulation  rather  than  by  law, 
and  thus  may  be  modified  at  any  time  at  the  discretion  of 
the  War  Department.  These  are  determined  mechanically 
and  are  height,  weight,  and  chest  measurement,  properly 
known  as  vital  capacity.  Under  existing  orders  the  minimum 
height  for  all  arms  except  the  mountain  batteries  Minimum 
is  sixty-four  inches.  For  the  mountain  batteries  height 
it  is  sixty-eight  inches.  It  is  permissible  to  enlist  by  special 
authority  tailors,  bandsmen,  teachers,  and  other  skilled  men 
if  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  below  the  minimum. 
Although  this  limit  may  be  changed  in  either  direction  at 
any  time  by  regulation,  experience  has  shown  that  sixty-two 
inches  is  practically  the  lowest  limit  for  even  tolerable  efficiency 
in  American  soldiers;  and  when  in  emergency  men  of  less 
than  five  feet  have  been  accepted,  as  a  class  they  have 
speedily  broken  down  from  sheer  lack  of  physical  strength. 
But  men  not  more  than  sixty  inches  in  height  are  frequently 
found  in  foreign  armies  and  appear  perfectly  acceptable. 
A  reasonable  explanation  of  this  discrepancy  is,  that  any 
material  curtailment  of  height  in  the  individual  below  the 
average  of  that  of  the  population,  implies  serious  lack  of 
development.  In  a  country  where  the  adult  male  is  usually 
sixty  or  sixty-two  inches  tall,  a  man  of  equal  stature  is  pre- 
sumably of  normal  vigor;  but  where  the  average  male  is 
sixty-six  or  more  inches,  such  a  deficiency  presumes  both 
insufficient  vitality  and  inadequate  strength.  Further,  the 
equipment  and  the  standard  of  exertion  for  an  army  whose 
minimum  height  is  sixty-four  inches  and  whose  average 
height  is  considerably  greater,  are  based  on  standards  which 
much  smaller  men  would  fail  to  reach. 

The  maximum  height  for  the  cavalry  and  the  field  artil- 
lery (except  the  mountain  batteries)  is  seventy  inches.     For 


22  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  mountain  batteries  it  is  seventy-two  inches.  For  the 
cavalry  and  the  field  artillery  an  excess  of  a  fraction  of  an 
Maximum  inch  in  height  is  permissible  in  desirable  men.  For 
height  all  other  arms  there  is  no  fixed  maximum  height, 

which  is  practically  regulated  by  the  weight.  There  is  a 
physiological  relation  between  weight  and  height  in  young 
manhood  to  which  the  recruit  should  very  nearly  conform. 
But  there  may  be  natural  moderate  deviations  from  this 
standard  which  do  not  imply  unfitness.  The  rule  is:  Two 
Weight  and  pounds  in  weight  for  every  inch  in  height,  and 
height  five  additional  pounds  for  every  inch  above  sixty- 

seven.  Therefore,  to  determine  the  normal  weight,  the  height 
being  known:  multiply  the  whole  height  in  inches  by  2; 
multiply  the  inches  above  sixty-seven  by  5;  add  the  products. 
Thus,  to  find  the  normal  weight  of  a  man  of  five  feet,  ten 
inches:  5  ft.  10  in.  =  70  in.;  70  X  2  =  140;  5  ft.  7  in.  =  67 
in.;  70  -  67  =  3;  3  X  5  =  15;  140  +  15  =  155  Ibs.,  the 
normal  weight.  To  determine  the  normal  height  of  a  man 
weighing  170  Ibs.:  67  X  2  =  134;  170  -  134  =  36;  36  -*-  7 
=  5+  ;  67  +  5+  =  72  in.  or  a  trifle  over  six  feet.  The 
weight  of  infantry,  coast  artillery,  and  engineers  must  not 
exceed  190  Ibs.  Therefore,  as  67  X  2  =  134;  190  -  134 
=  56;  56  -r-  7  =  8;  67  +  8  =  75  in.,  so  6  ft.  3  in.  would 
be  the  maximum  height.  Material  deviations  from  the 
Modifica-  standard  weight  are  allowed  in  each  direction 
tions  in  where  the  applicant  is  active,  has  firm  muscles, 
weight  an(j  jg  manifestly  vigorous.  These  deviations 
range  from  eight  pounds  below  that  stated  for  the  minimum 
height  to  twenty  pounds  below  that  given  for  the  man  of 
seventy  or  more  inches.  On  the  other  hand,  unless  the 
applicant  is  really  obese,  a  marked  disproportion  of  weight 
over  height  does  not  demand  rejection,  although  it  is  unde- 
sirable in  the  mounted  services.  Indeed  it  is  better  that 
muscular  men  should  be  over  than  under  weight.  The  maxi- 
mum weight  for  cavalry  and  field  artillery  is  165  pounds  sub- 
ject to  the  permissible  variation  just  noted.  Weight  within 


STATURE,   WEIGHT,   AND   VITAL   CAPACITY         23 

purely  physiological  limits  is  subject  to  much  variation, 
depending  upon  the  man's  age  arid  mode  of  life;  but  a  marked 
deficiency  in  weight  should  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion, 
for  fear  of  wasting  disease  or  of  insufficient  strength.  Under 
all  circumstances  there  must  be  clear  evidence  of  muscular 
vigor.  A  considerable  change  in  weight  may  follow  enlist- 
ment. Imperfectly  nourished  men  are  apt  to  gain,  especially 
in  garrison,  by  the  regular  and  sufficient  rations  and  stated 
open-air  exercise;  but  some  who  go  at  once  into  the  field 
will  lose  weight,  because  the  new  food  may  not  Weight  after 
be  as  acceptable  as  that  supplied  at  home,  it  enlistment 
may  be  insufficient  from  imperfect  cooking,  and  the  demands 
of  unusual  exercise  and  of  exposure  to  cold  may  draw  upon 
the  physical  reserve. 

The  third,   and  a  very-  important,   physical  requirement 
is  chest  measurement,  technically  vital  capacity.     ("  Chest 
measurement/'  as  ordinarily  used  by  physiologists,  (jne8t 
signifies    the    mean   of   tha    chest    circumferences  measurement 
at    forced    inspiration    and    forced    expiration.)  or  vital 
As  used  officially,  chest  measurement  is  the  cir-  capaci  y 
cumference  of  the  chest  at  the  point  of  the  shoulder  blades 
after   forced   expiration.     Chest    mobility   is   the    difference 
between  the  extremes  of  forced  expiration  and    chest 
forced   inspiration,    and   strictly    speaking    chest    mobility 
mobility   and   chest    measurement    taken   together   are   the 
factors  which  determine  vital  capacity  and  indicate  the  breath- 
ing power  of  the  recruit.     As  a  man's  vigor  and  endurance 
largely  depend  upon  the  quantity  of  air  he  inspires,  which 
really  means  the  amount  of  blood  that  he  can  cleanse  physio- 
logically and  keep  supplied  with  fresh  oxygen,  it  is  literally 
vital.     Vital  capacity,  then,  is  the  measure  of  the  air  that  can 
be  taken  into  the  chest  by  forcible  inspiration.     It  is  usually 
expressed  in  the  terms   of  its  equivalent,  that  is,  by  the 
amount  forcibly  expired  after  forcible  inspiration.   The  expired 
air  is  the  more  easily  determined.  This  represents  the  supply 
of  air  upon  which  a  person  may  depend  in  an  emergency 


24  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  not  merely  that  which  he  ordinarily  consumes,  and  it 
takes  no  account  of  the  proportion  which  remains  permanently 
in  the  lungs,  the  residual  air.  The  capacity  of  the  lungs 
increases  with  age  to  the  thirtieth  year  (after  which  it  slowly 
decreases),  and  bears  a  close  although  not  quite  uniform 
Capacity  and  relation  to  height.  Thus  a  recruit  five  feet,  four 
height  inches  tall  should  have  a  vital  capacity  of  198 

cubic  inches.  This  appears  to  decrease  by  about  six  cubic 
inches  for  each  inch  of  height  to  five  feet,  and  to  increase 
approximately  by  eight  cubic  inches  for  every  inch  of  height 
to  six  feet.  Hence  a  man  five  feet  tall  should  forcibly  inspire 
174  cubic  inches,  and  one  of  six  feet  262  cubic  inches.  Rules 
have  been  formulated  to  determine  the  standard  capacity 
through  the  physiological  relation  of  the  circumference 
of  the  chest  and  its  mobility  to  the  height.  The  relation  of 
Circumfer-  chest  capacity  to  stature  should  be:  Between 
ence  and  sixty-four  and  sixty-seven  inches  in  height,  the 
mobility  mean  of  the  chest  circumference  should  be  thirty- 
three  inches,  or  a  trifle  above  one  half  the  height,  with  a  mobil- 
ity of  two  inches.  The  minimum  at  expiration  is  thirty-two 
inches.  Above  sixty-four  inches  the  measurement  gradually 
increases  until  at  six  feet  it  is  nearly  thirty-six  inches,  or 
almost  half  the  height,  with  a  mobility  gradually  increased  to 
three  inches.  Formerly  the  physiological  standard  and  the 
Deduction  of  official  rules  were  in  substantial  accord,  but  for 
standard  several  years  the  regulation  has  established  a 
somewhat  lower  standard  and  has  also  authorized  the  accept- 
ance of  a  recruit  whose  chest  circumference  at  expiration  is 
two  inches  below  that  standard  "when  the  applicant  is  active, 
has  firm  muscles,  and  is  evidently  vigorous  and  healthy." 
But  no  recruit  should  be  accepted  who  could  not  thus  be 
described,  and  officers  are  particularly  warned  against  taking 
advantage  of  this  unusually  open  door.  The  relations  between 
height,  weight,  chest  capacity,  and  mobility,  according  to  the 
old  and  the  present  standards,  are  shown  in  this  table. 


STATURE,   WEIGHT,  AND  VITAL  CAPACITY 


25 


(GREENLEAF,  MODIFIED.) 


Chest  measurement 

Height. 

Weight. 

(at  expiration). 

Chest  mobility. 

Old. 

New. 

Inches. 

Pounds. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

Inches. 

64 

128 

32* 

32 

2 

65 

130 

33 

32 

2 

66 

132 

33* 

32* 

2 

67 

134 

34 

33 

2 

68 

141 

34 

33| 

2* 

69 

148 

34* 

33* 

2i- 

70 

155 

35 

34 

2  , 

71 

162 

35i 

34J 

2J- 

72 

169 

35J 

84| 

3 

73 

176 

36* 

35i 

3 

To  the  officer  chiefly  concerned  with  men  as  they  stand 
in  the  ranks,  the  foregoing  details  may  be  wearisome  and 
seem  superfluous.  The  earnest  leader  should  not  find  them 
so,  for  they  are  not  abstruse  and  they  simply  mark  the  lines 
within  which  to  create  an  efficient  army. 


VII 

GROWTH    AND   DEVELOPMENT 

Before  discussing  the  mode  of  selecting  a  recruit  and  the 
reasons  involved,  some  elementary  points  in  practical  physi- 
Growth  and  ology  must  be  considered.  Because  a  man  may 
development  have  acquired  his  growth,  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  he  is  fully  developed;  for  while  growth  "  is  the  gradual 
increase  to  full  size  by  the  addition  of  matter,"  development 
"  is  the  advancement  of  an  organized  being  from  one  stage 
to  another  toward  a  more  complete  state."  Physical  maturity, 
that  is,  the  entire  development  of  the  body,  is  not  attained 
until  nearly  the  twenty-fifth  year,  for  which  reason  a  man 
much  less  than  twenty-two,  and  especially  one  not  yet  twenty, 
is  very  liable  to  fail  under  the  tests  of  military  life. 

The  skeleton  is  the  bony  framework  designed  to  enclose, 
support  and  defend  the  important  organs  of  life  and  to  pro- 
vide  for  locomotion.     The  separate   bones   arise 
Skeleton  . 

from  independent   centres  and  they  coalesce  so 

slowly  that  some  of  them  are  not  consolidated  until  the  twenty- 
fifth  year.  Hence  in  the  young  the  bones  are  not  as  fit  for 
severe  strain  as  in  those  older.  This  is  painfully  evident  when 
the  sacrum  and  hip-bones,  which  form  the  buttress  and  arches 
of  the  pelvis  and  are  not  consolidated  before  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  are  distorted  by  the  habitual  carriage  of  weights  upon 
them  in  youth.  Of  course  an  applicant  with  a  distorted  pel- 
vis would  not  be  accepted,  and  the  instance  of  such  distor- 
tion is  used  merely  to  illustrate  the  combination  of  strain 
and  immaturity.  It  is  upon  these  associated  bones  that 
much  of  a  soldier's  burden-bearing  may  rest,  because  after 
consolidation  they  are  best  adapted  to  withstand  such  stress. 
But  that  neither  invites  nor  encourages  premature  strain. 

26 


GROWTH  AND   DEVELOPMENT  27 

Recruiting,  and  all  other,  officers  should  also  remember  the 
physiological  relation  which  the  bones  and  the  muscles  at 
large  bear  to  each  other  in  their  growth;  for  the  Relations  of 
muscles,  that  is  the  flesh,  whose  contractions  cause  bones  and 
the  voluntary  physical  movements,  are  attached  muscles 
by  their  extremities  and  sometimes  along  a  part  of  their  length 
to  the  bones.  Obviously,  large  and  powerful  muscles  require 
proportionately  large  and  powerful  bones,  with  well-devel- 
oped ridges  and  prominences  upon  them  for  attachment  and 
efficient  work;  and  both  bones  and  muscles  must  be  relatively 
large  in  men  of  whom  hard  labor,  such  as  active  warfare,  is 

required.     Further,    under    favorable    conditions 

Development 
development   increases    for    a    number    of   years 

while  growth  has  almost  ceased,  and  the  bones  become  thicker, 
the  joints  stronger,  and  the  shoulders  broader  from  the  twenti- 
eth to  the  twenty-fifth  year.  The  maximum  height  is  barely 
attained  at  the  twenty-fifth,  and  the  muscles  gradually  de- 
velop in  size  and  strength  to  the  thirtieth  year.  The  further 
increase  in  size  that  occurs  after  full  maturity  is  generally 
the  laying  on  of  fat,  which  sustains  no  immediate  relation 
to  health  or  vigor. 

While  yet  in  the  stage  of  development,  growing  bones  may 
be  bent  unnaturally,  as  conspicuously  illustrated  in   bandy 
legs,  where  children  have  been  allowed  to  bear    pressure 
their  weight  upon  them  prematurely.     Distortion    upon  bones 
may  also  follow  lateral  pressure  on  the  long  bones  of  the  chest 
walls,  the  ribs,  to  the  hurt  of  the  young  soldier.     This  may 
also  supervene  upon  the  mere  carriage  of  weights.     Pressure 
before  or  behind,  which  limits  the  natural  elasticity  of  the 
ribs,  interferes  with  the  full  dilation  of  the  lungs  and  occa- 
sionally disturbs  the  action  of  the  heart;  for,  owing  to  their 
elasticity,  the  bony  walls  may  be  materially  com-    constriction 
pressed  and  even  such  apparently  trifling  agents    of  chest 
as  the  canteen  and  haversack  straps  may  restrict    waUs 
their  free  expansion.      It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  have  a 
possible  mobility  of  two  or  two  and  a  half  inches  when  un- 


28  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

restricted,  it'  the  bones  are  not  vigorous  enough  to  withstand 
that  form  of  intermittent  necessary  pressure.  The  more 
immature  the  recruit,  the  greater  this  evil  by  the  "  set  " 
which  the  walls  may  receive.  It  must  be  admitted,  however, 
that  independently  of  any  distortion,  pressure  upon  the  chest 
of  even  a  relatively  seasoned  soldier  may  affect  the  con- 
tained organs  by  limiting  the  rhythmical  expansion  of  the 
bony  cage;  and  in  the  recruit  this  might  be  conspicuous  as 
well  as  highly  injurious. 

Because  it  is  indispensable  that  they  shall  be  sound  and 
be  free  in  their  action,  it  is  more  important  to  understand 
the  development  and  to  arrange  for  the  care  of  the  heart 
and  the  lungs  than  to  study  the  consolidation  of  the  skele- 
ton. The  lungs  practically  are  sheets  of  delicate  membrane 
upon  both  sides  of  which  run  blood  vessels  (capillaries)  still 
more  delicate.  This  supporting  membrane  is  so  intricately 
folded  as  to  appear  a  spongy  mass,  whose  ultimate  inter- 
stices are  vesicles  not  discernible  by  the  naked 
eye.  On  both  sides  of  these  walls  the  air  bathes 
the  capillaries  and  gives  to  the  blood  the  vital  oxygen,  while 
simultaneously  it  receives  from  it  watery  vapor  and  the  gases 
of  organic  dissolution,  chiefly  CO2.  This  interchange  takes 
place  directly  through  the  capillary  walls  by  that  physio- 
logical leakage  known  as  osmosis.  When  the  vesicles  expand, 
more  air  comes  into  contact  with  the  capillaries;  their  con- 
traction, or  their  collapse  as  sometimes  occurs,  not  only 
diminishes  the  quantity  of  air  which  may  be  present  but 
sometimes  affords  a  special  seat  or  nidus  for  the  deposit  and 
growth  of  the  tubercle  bacillus,  which  causes  consumption. 
Lungs  in  Overtraining  occasionally  leads  to  undue  expan- 
overtrain-  sion  of  some  of  the  vesicles  and  to  overstretching 
"**  and  impairment  of  their  elasticity  (emphysema, 

as  in  the  heaves  of  horses) .  More  commonly  the  abrupt  ces- 
sation of  severe  training  leads  to  collapse  of  the  walls  of  the 
vesicles  and  hence  to  an  opportunity  for  tuberculosis.  But 
the  most  common  fault  in  caring  for  the  lungs  is  insufficient 


GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  29 

expansion  of  the  chest  through  tight  clothing  and  the  pres- 
sure of  straps,  so  that  Aitken  is  quite  justified  in  saying 
that  "  Next  to  the  inspiration  of  bad  air,  the  im-  Compression 
perfect  or  continuously  obstructed  expansion  of  the  of  chest 
chest  tends  more  than  any  cause  we  know  of  to  bring  about 
diseases  of  the  heart  and  lungs."  This  must,  constantly  be 
remembered  in  the  effort  to  adjust  the  pack,  some  sort 
of  which  it  is  imperative  for  the  soldier  to  carry  in  the 
field. 

The  heart,  which  drives  the  blood  throughout  the  body,  is 
not  completely  grown  until  the  twenty-fifth  year.  Unusual 
continued  exertion,  of  which  athletic  training  is 
a  type,  generally  develops  a  temporary  hyper- 
trophy, or  overgrowth,  of  the  heart  which  may  or  may  not 
become  permanent  according  to  circumstances.  The  heart  is 
particularly  sensitive  because  of  the  peculiarities  of  its  growth. 
Its  greatest  proportionate  increase  is  at  the  accession  of 
puberty,  when  it  nearly  doubles  its  size.  Now  if  that  period 
occupies  five  years  the  heart-increase  each  year  Heart- 
is  one-fifth;  but  if  it  occurs  in  one  year  or  two,  growth  at 
the  growth  is  so  much  more  rapid  that  the  heart  Puberty 
may  not  acquire  strength  in  proportion  to  its  size.  Sudden 
increase  in  the  volume  of  any  muscle  —  and  the  heart  is  merely 
a  complicated  muscle  —  implies  weakness  of  structure  until 
vigor  comes  with  time.  Young  fibres  have  not  the  elasticity, 
tone  and  stoutness  of  those  more  mature,  so  that  a  heart 
which  grows  in  one  year  three  times  as  much  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding year  is  almost  necessarily  weak.  Hence  a  rapidly 
grown  youth  has  a  rapidly  grown  and  comparatively  weak 
heart,  and  until  it  has  become  mature  such  a  recruit  would 
not  be  acceptable  for  continuous  labor.  The  most  extreme 
disproportion  of  growth  occurs  at  puberty;  but  there  is  a  con- 
tinual increase  in  size  for  years,  so  that  the  greatest  amount 
of  growth  is  from  the  eighteenth  to  the  twenty-fifth  year. 
This  gives  point  to  what  has  already  been  said  of  the  unde- 
sirability  of  immature  youth  as  soldiers,  and  it  should  teach 


30  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  lesson  that  no  physical  dependence  can  be  placed  on  very 
young  men  for  continuous  heavy  work,  particularly  under 
military  conditions  and  when  there  is  any  restraint  over 
the  expansion  of  the  chest.  "  The  greatest  strain  is  thrown 

on   the   heart   throughout   adolescence   to    adult 
Heart-strain 

age,   and   a   very   constant   group   01   symptoms 

indicates  the  cardiac  failure  that  must  be  looked  for  in  over- 
worked recruits  "  (Aitken).  This  condition,  with  the  other 
weaknesses  of  immaturity,  accounts  for  the  strewing  of  the 
roadside  with  young  soldiers  as  Napoleon  complained,  and 
for  the  choking  of  field  hospitals  and  sick-transports  to  this 
day  when  such  lads  are  drawn  into  the  service.  It  is  the 
heart-strain  from  excessive  fatigue  in  those  who  have  grown 
rap  Jly  and  hence  have  deficient  reserve  energy  that  leads 
to  leart-failure  under  unwonted  exertion.  It  is  this  liability 
in  ,ne  young  soldier,  whether  he  has  grown  rapidly  or  not, 
that  is  one  of  the  most  serious  objections  to  raw  levies  which 
so  often  are  youthful.  Heart-strain  in  various  degrees  usually 
precedes  positive  breakdown  and  is  caused  by  overtaxing 
the  strength,  commonly  in  drill  or  in  the  heavy  marches  of 
actual  war.  The  purpose  of  military  drill  is  to  familiarize 
the  $  oldier  with  certain  movements  that  secure  his  greater 
efficiency,  especially  in  cooperation  with  others,  and  to  de- 
velop his  physical  endurance.  To  that  end  it  should  be 
Drill  as  gradual.  A  young  recruit  cannot  keep  pace  with 
affecting  the  a  full-grown  and  completely  trained  man  in  the 
heart  ranks,  mainly,  not  on  account  of  the  fatigue  of 

his  arms  or  legs  but,  because  his  heart  and  blood  vessels  are 
neither  fully  developed  nor  especially  accustomed  to  such 
work.  Failure  usually  arises  from  attempting  too  much  at 
the  outset.  With  excessive  work  at  the  beginning,  or  with 
its  sudden  increase  as  in  forced  marches,  these  youths  rapidly 
Caution  in  break  down.  Drill  must  begin  within  the  re- 
drill  cruit's  power  of  endurance,  and  the  young  soldier, 
usually  persisting  too  long  from  pride,  should  be  encouraged 
to  fall  out  of  ranks  promptly  at  the  first  serious  distress. 


GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  31 

"The  throb  of  the  heart  and  the  swell  of  the  arteries  and 
veins  must  be  allowed  to  subside  and  settle  down  completely, 
so  that  the  lungs  may  resume  their  peaceful  action  of  easy 
breathing,  before  any  further  drill  exertion  is  attempted  " 
(Aitken).  The  company  officer  must  bear  this  in  mind  and 
watch  his  young  men  in  the  ranks.  If  the  man's  breathing 
does  not  gradually  improve,  or  if  the  man's  weight  continues 
to  decline,  he  should  without  further  delay  be  referred  to  the 
medical  officer  for  examination.  The  company  officer  should 
not  wait  for  the  man  to  report  sick;  he  should  take  the  initia- 
tive himself,  and  in  this  way  much  valuable  time  often  may 
be  saved.  In  such  cases  treatment  cannot  be  Best  in 
hurried.  To  take  a  young  soldier  in  such  a  state  heartstrain 
into  the  hospital  for  a  week  or  two,  only  gives  temporary 
ease.  No  medicine  is  a  substitute  for  strength,  and  it  may 
require  six  months  for  the  immature  heart  to  recover  from 
such  a  strain.  Premature  duty  will  cause  the  same  symp- 
toms to  recur  again  and  again,  until  the  condition  is  outgrown 
by  normal  development  or  the  heart  is  permanently  damaged. 
The  lesson  is,  not  to  accept  minors  if  it  can  be  avoided. 


VIII 

SELECTION   OF   RECRUITS 

In  peace  under  existing  regulations  applicants  for  enlist- 
ment are  selected  at  recruiting  stations  by  officers  of  the  line 
Eecruiting  an<^  then  are  sen*  to  recruiting  depots,  or  recruit- 
stations  and  ing  depot  posts,  as  the  case  may  be,  where  they 
depots  are  crjtically  examined  by  officers  of  the  medical 

corps  who  enlist  those  whom  they  accept.  After  a  certain 
amount  of  training  at  the  place  of  enlistment,  recruits  are 
assigned  to  and  join  their  respective  regiments.  Probably  in 
war  most  regular  recruits  will  be  immediately  assigned  to 
regiments  and  volunteers  will  be  accepted  after  scrutiny  by 
line  and  medical  officers,  subject  to  re-inspection  on  the 
occasion  of  muster-in.  Notwithstanding  line  officers  do  not, 
as  formerly,  actually  enlist  recruits  who  have  been  passed  by 
the  medical  officers,  it  now  rests  with  them  to  select  the 
Selection  by  candidates  who  shall  be  subject  to  the  final  tests. 
line  officers  They  have  the  important  responsibility  of  rejecting 
outright  those  applicants  whom  they  believe  unfit,  and 
the  further  obligation  to  send  forward  only  those  who  in  their 
judgment  are  fit  for  military  service.  There  is  a  double  duty, 
—  that  of  not  rejecting  qualified  men  and  that  of  not  incur- 
ring unnecessary  expense  in  sending  to  the  enlisting  depots 
unacceptable  applicants.  It  is  therefore  important  for  the 
recruiting  officers  to  make  these  preliminary  selections  with 
the  same  care  as  though  they  were  to  be  final.  When  he 
exercises  his  judgment  in  establishing  a  presumption  in  favor 
of  an  applicant  as  one  who  would  probably  become  a  strong 
and  active  soldier  or  in  rejecting  him  outright,  the  officer 
has  in  the  recruiting  regulations  a  safe  and  explicit  guide. 
Sometimes  there  is  temptation  to  disregard  their  particulars 

32 


SELECTION  OF  RECRUITS  33 

under  the  feeling  that,  apart  from  obscure  disease,  any  officer 
accustomed  to  soldiers  can  recognize  an  acceptable  recruit 
at  sight.  Therefore,  omitting  morbid  conditions  or  physio- 
logical irregularities  discernible  only  by  special  knowledge, 
this  advice  is  prepared  for  the  recruiting,  not  the  enlisting, 
officers. 

A  recruiting  officer  should  not   select  a  man  merely  be- 
cause his  appearance  is  prepossessing,  nor  accept  as  a  final 
affirmative  the  bare  fact  that  no  disease  is  obvious.     Many  a 
first-class  insurance  risk  would  be  worthless  as  a  soldier. 
A  comprehensive  and  careful  survey  of  the  applicant  should 
first  be  made,  after  he  has  been  stripped  of  clothing   preliminary 
and  washed  clean.     It  is  impossible  to  judge  of   survey 
the  physique  (except  the  stature)  of  any  man  while  he  is 
clothed.     AIL  lank,  slight,  puny  men  with  contracted  figure, 
men  technically  known  as  of  "poor  physique,"  should  be 
set  aside,  for  there  is  no  class  that  furnishes  so  large  a  pro- 
portion to  the  hospital  and  the  guard-house  as  this.    " Another 
class,  having  neither  apparent  disease  nor  well-characterized 
physical  or  moral  defect,  is  equally  objectionable;    there  is 
a  something  about  them  [which  may  well  be  termed  want  of 
aptitude]  which  satisfies  an  expert  that  they  will 
make  either  indifferent  or  bad  soldiers  "  (Green- 
leaf).     In  all  cases  of  doubt,  reject.     It  is  sheer  waste  for  the 
government   to   take   care   of   incompetents.     The   army   is 
neither  a  reformatory  nor  an  almshouse.     The  exception  to 
rejection  for  want   of   aptitude  is  the   conscript. 
Men  who  fail  to  volunteer  in  war  have  little  mili- 
tary zeal,  but   under  the    stress  of    conscription  they  may 
safely  be  intrusted  to  the  discipline  of  the  camp. 

A  summary  of  the  physical  qualifications  desirable  in  a 
soldier  is  this:  "A  tolerably  just  proportion  between  the 
different  parts  of  the  trunk  and  members,  a  well-shaped  head, 
thick  hair,  a  countenance  expressive  of  health,  with  a  lively 
eye,  skin  not  too  white,  lips  red,  teeth  white  and  in  good  con- 
dition, voice  strong,  skin  firm,  chest  well  formed,  belly  lank, 


34  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

organs  of  generation  well  developed,  limbs  muscular,  feet 
arched  and  of  moderate  length,  hands  large."  The  more 
Desirable  nearly  the  chest  is  barrel-shaped  the  better.  When 
qualities  a  man  is  found  who  has  these  qualities  or  an  ap- 
proximation to  them,  his  formal  examination  should  begin. 

The  first  steps  are  to  take  his  weight,  his  stature, 
Examination        _  .  . 

and  his  vital  capacity.     With  accurate  scales  the 

weight  is  a  simple  matter;  but  it  is  to  be  taken,  not  estimated. 
Most  young  men  while  standing  are  able  temporarily  to  alter 
.  their   height   by   a    considerable   fraction   of   an 

inch,  in  order  to  avoid  rejection  or  acceptance 
as  the  case  may  be.     Such  a  one,  if  suspected  of  deception, 
should  be  laid  flat  on  the  back  on  a  table  or  the  floor,  when 
he   can   neither  increase   nor    diminish   his   true 
length,    and   the   distance   between   fixed   points 
at  his  head  and  his  heels  be  measured  by  a  rod  or  an  inex- 
tensible  line.     That  determines   his  exact  stature.     Having 
found  that  weight  and  height  are  within  acceptable  limits, 
the  more  delicate  determination  of  vital  capacity  through 
Vital  chest  measurement  and  chest  mobility  succeeds, 

capacity  Unless  these  three  points  are  satisfactorily  estab- 
lished, it  is  useless  to  proceed.  No  length  of  limb,  muscular 
development,  nor  apparent  intelligence  can  replace  air-space 
for  the  purposes  of  the  field.  The  official  direction  is  to  apply 
Chest  at  forced  expiration  "a  tape  at  the  point  of  the 

measurement  shoulder  blade,  when  it  will  generally  fall  below 
the  nipple."  This  is  liable  to  describe  an  oblique  rather  than 
a  horizontal  plane,  so  in  actual  practice  the  tape  is  usually 
applied  just  below  the  nipple  where  a  horizontal  section  would 
cut  rather  above  the  extremity  of  the  shoulder  blade.  The 
object  is  to  find  the  size  of  a  minimum  cross  section  at  this 
particular  point,  and  the  tape  must  be  used  while  the  arms 
Chest  hang  naturally.  To  determine  chest  mobility,  the 

mobility  circumference  of  the  chest  is  taken  at  the  same 
point  at  forced  expiration  and  forced  inspiration  with  the 
arms  hanging  naturally  and  by  preference  without  removing 


OF   THE  \ 

UNIVERSITY    I 


OF 


SELECTION  OF  RECRUITS  35 

the  tape.  The  difference  between  the  two  findings  is  the 
mobility.  Certain  precautions  are  necessary  in  even  these 
simple  acts.  The  applicant  must  stand  erect  with  the  chest 

muscles  perfectly  relaxed,  excepting  as  required 

r        u       Zu-  o  j-  Precautions 

for   breathing.     Some   men   because   directed   to 

do  so  fail  to  inhale  or  exhale  at  the  word  beyond  very  narrow 
limits,  and  patience  must  be  used  to  overcome  their  nervous- 
ness. The  chest  may  be  efficiently  emptied  by  counting 
aloud  without  renewing  the  breath.  Several  repetitions 
usually  result  in  regular  and  deep  breathing.  Recruits 
sometimes  contract  the  chest  or  attempt  its  expansion  by 
violent  muscular  efforts  or  by  bending  forward  or  backward. 
All  that  is  irregular  and  defeats  the  true  object,  which  is 
to  obtain  the  capacity  of  the  chest,  not  to  measure  muscular 
contractions.  Of  the  two  factors,  the  mobility,  when  properly 
taken,  is  the  more  important,  because  it  represents  the  possible 
increase  on  demand  of  the  volume  of  air.  The  circumference 
is  better  taken  first  at  expiration,  for  the  tape  may  slip  down 
after  the  limit  of  inspiration  has  been  measured,  which  would 
make  the  boundary  of  the  described  plane  oblique.  Where 
there  is  much  fat  or  a  very  considerable  muscular  develop- 
ment of  the  walls,  the  circumference  at  the  surface  may  not 
bear  a  true  relation  to  that  of  the  chest-cavity,  but  the  mobility 
will  remain  a  fair  index. 

Besides  the  capacity  for  abundant  air,  the  integrity  of  the 
lungs  and  heart,  upon  which  the  man's  "wind"  depends, 
is  essential.  This  may  be  roughly  estimated  by  Condition  of 
requiring  the  candidate  to  run  briskly  about  the  chest-organs 
room  and  observing  whether  he  breathes  through  the  mouth, 
and  whether  the  breathing  is  materially  quickened  during 
such  exercise.  Either  condition  would  condemn,  or  at 
least  make  acceptance  doubtful.  After  or  before  this  or  other 
active  exercise,  should  the  pulse  at  the  wrist  drop  a  beat  at 
regular  or  irregular  intervals,  reject. 

The  senses  of  hearing  and  sight  are  next  to  be  tested. 
Each  ear  must  clearly  distinguish  ordinary  conversation  at 


36  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

a  distance  of  fifty  feet.     This  is  best  determined  by  causing 
the    remarks    to    be    repeated;    not    by    having     questions 
.  answered,  for  sometimes    they  may   be  guessed. 

Unilateral  deafness,  which  is  not  uncommon  and 
is  disqualifying,  is  only  surely  detected  when  an  assistant, 
not  the  recruit,  completely  closes  each  ear  in  succession  by 
pressure.     Sight  is  tried  by  test-cards,  each  eye  in  turn  being 
.  covered  by  cardboard,  not  by  the  hand.      Be- 

cause rifle-shooting  requires  the  use  of  only  one 
eye,  binocular  equivalence  in  vision  is  not  demanded.  If 
there  is  no  organic  disease  in  either  eye,  a  recruit  with  acuity 
equal  to  £  %  in  the  better  eye  and  flfo  in  the  poorer  may  be 
accepted  for  the  line,  the  engineers  and  the  signal  corps. 
For  other  enlisted  men  a  minimum  of  %  §  in  each  eye  correcti- 
ble  with  lenses  to  f  §  is  sufficient.  That  is,  recruits  for  the 
line  may  be  accepted  when  the  better  eye  is  unable  to  read 
all  the  letters  on  the  f{j  line,  provided  they  may  read  some 
of  those  on  the  §£  line  and  there  is  no  organic  disease  in  either 
eye.  The  explanation  is  that  rifle-shooting  requires  only 
monocular  vision,  and  a  perfectly  defined  image  of  the  tar- 
get, although  desirable,  is  not  essential  for  fair  marksman- 
ship; and  it  has  been  determined  experimentally  that  when 
the  soldier  learns  to  focus  the  sights  of  his  rifle  an  acuteness 
of  one-half  the  normal  is  consistent  with  good  shooting.  The 
same  degree  of  acuteness  is  sufficient  for  the  perception  of 
distant  objects.  All  variation  from  the  normal  must  be  care- 
fully noted  on  the  papers.  Every  recruit  is  to  be  tested  for 
Color-blind-  color-blindness,  and  the  finding  noted;  but  color- 
ness  blindness  disqualifies  only  for  the  signal  corps. 
"  The  development  of  the  head  and  the  symmetry  of  its  pro- 
portion  should  be  as  carefully  insisted  upon  as 
with  organs  and  regions"  (Crawford).  The  skull 
must  be  carefully  examined  with  the  fingers,  and  rejection 
should  follow  any  depression  not  certainly  natural,  any 
serious  scar,  or  any  sensitive  spot;  for  men  with  such 
blemishes  invariably  break  down  under  exposure  to  heat 


SELECTION  OF  RECRUITS  37 

and  frequently  under  great  fatigue.     Sound  opposing  teeth 
to  chew  well  the  difficult  food  of    the  field  are  necessary. 
Existing  orders  allow  the  acceptance  of  men  other- 
wise  qualified  who  have  four  serviceable  double 
teeth,  two  above  and  two  below,  in  such  opposition  as  will 
allow  mastication.    That  appears  to  be  a  physiological  mis- 
take.    It  would  seem  that  two  good  grinders  opposite  each 
other  on  each  side  should  be  the  minimum.    The  moment 
one  of  the  four  teeth  now  regarded  as  sufficient  becomes  use- 
less the  man  is  handicapped,  and  two  lost  from  the  same  jaw 
disqualify    for   further   service.     This  recognized  margin  of 
safety  is  very  narrow.*    Unmasticated  food  leads  to  intestinal 
disease,  and  carious  teeth,  especially  in  early  life,  mark  a 
feeble  constitution  easily  broken  down.     All  the  joints  should 
be  strong  and  mobile,  and  special  pains  should  be  paid  to  the 
thumb  and  forefinger,  because  of  their  great  importance  in 
handling   arms.     Strength   and   mobility   are   in- 
dispensable in  the  thumb  which,  acting  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  rest  of  the  hand,  is  the  characteristic  distinction 
between  man  and  the  quadrumana.     Its  grasp  renders  possible 
making  fire,  the  use  of  weapons,  and  the  art  of  weaving,  the 
antecedents  of  civilization  (Whitehead).    The  soundness  and 
mobility  of  all  the  limbs  are  to  be  determined  by  their  exercise 
separately  and  together.     This  is  especially  im-  vigor  of  the 
portant  with  the  legs,  each  of  which  must  do  its  lower  limbs 
full  share  of  work.     The  number  of  hops  with  which  each 
leg  covers  in  succession  a  given  distance  should  be  silently 
noted,  for  should  they  materially  disagree  weak-  Varicose 
ness  or  stiffness   would  be  indicated.     Prominent  veins 
veins  of  the   ankle,   behind  the  knee,  or  on  the  thigh  are 
cause  for  rejection  when  multiple  and  really  large,  but  a 
few  inconspicuous    veins   do   not   disqualify.     The   testicles 

*  Recent  orders  modify  this  to  "at  least  six  serviceable  molar 
teeth,  two  above  and  two  below  on  one  side,  and  one  above  and  one 
below  on  the  other  side,  and  so  opposed  as  to  serve  the  purpose  of 
mastication." 


38  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

are  to  be  handled,  and  if  either  is  sensitive  or  both  have 
dwindled  there  is  cause  for  rejection.      But   non-sensitive, 
undersized  testicles  should  not   disqualify  a   con- 
script.     The   dread    of    flat-footedness    held   by 
many  recruiting  officers  leads  to  the  occasional  rejection  of  fair 
men,  but  in  point  of  fact  it  rarely  is  seen  among 
American  whites.     In  the  disqualifying  flat  foot 
the  inner  ankle  is  very  prominent  and  lower  than  usual; 
there  is  a  hollow  of  greater  or  less  extent  below  the  outer 
ankle;  the  foot  is  not  well  arched,  and  is  broader  at  the  ankle 
than  near  the  toes;  the  inner  side  is  flat  and  occasionally 
convex,  and  the  finger  cannot  be  introduced  beneath  the  sole 
when  this  rests  on  the  ground;  the  weight  of  the  body  presses 
on  the  inner  side  of  the  sole,  and  the  ordinary  motions  of 
the  ankle  are  impaired.     Bunions  that  are  large  or  have  been 
Bunions  and   recently  inflamed  incapacitate,  for  they  will  im- 
corns  mediately  disqualify  when  a  tightly  fitting  shoe 

is  worn  or  much  walking  is  attempted.  Corns  on  the  sole 
are  troublesome,  and  when  under  the  base  of  the  great  toe 
unfit  for  active  duty.  A  toe,  usually  the  second,  is  sometimes 
stiffened  at  right  angles  so  that  the  nail  touches  the  ground. 
This  is  known  as  "hammer-toe,"  or  "  walking  on 

H  amm  e  r- 1 06 

the  nail."  It  disqualifies  because,  although  a  man 
may  walk  fairly  well  when  the  conditions  are  favorable,  in  the 
field  sand  will  work  under  the  nail  and  cause  inflammation. 
Occasionally  one  toe  is  displaced  so  as  permanently  to  over- 
ride another.  Both  these  conditions  are  due  to  wearing 
tight  shoes  while  the  foot  is  growing,  and  both  unfit  for  march- 
Hidrosis  ing'  Foeti(*  perspiration  of  the  feet  is  a  disease 

that  is  intolerable  in  the  squad-room.  It  is  dis- 
tinct from  uncleanliness  and  no  amount  of  washing  will  avert 

the  odor,  so  that  an  applicant  thus  afflicted  should 

be  rejected,  or,  if  enlisted  inadvertently,  should  be 
discharged.  Unsightly  markings,  congenital  or  acquired  (ex- 
cepting as  due  to  wounds  in  service),  disqualify  because  they 
may  lead  to  rude  and  vexatious  jests.  The  utmost  care  should 


SELECTION  OF  RECRUITS  39 

be  had  to  exclude  men  likely  to  be  intemperate,  for  the  intoler- 
able nuisance  that  drunkards  are  within  the  service  warrants 
the  occasional  risk  of  rejecting  a  sober  man  while    Intemper- 
refusing  to  accept   those  who   constantly    make    ance 
trouble  during  peace  and  are  not  to  be  depended  upon  in  war. 


IX 

GENERAL  PHYSICAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CARE  OF 
NEW  ARMIES 

When  selection  is  possible,  in  raising  troops  for  immediate 
active  service  town-bred  men  are  preferable  to  those  from  the 
Bural  and  country.  If  war  is  not  imminent  and  a  year  or  two 
urban  re-  may  be  had  for  training,  then  country-bred  men 
should  be  chosen.  To  city  men  whose  lives  have 
had  artificial  limitations  and  many  of  whom  are  accustomed 
to  irregular  hours,  unwholesome  meals,  crowded  and  poorly 
Town  ventilated  lodgings,  the  open  air  and  more  regular 

recruits  military  life  are  physical  promotion.  When  there 
is  added  a  vigorous  but  just  control,  their  military  education 
proceeds  rapidly.  They  have  survived,  and  therefore  are 
immune  to,  the  contagious  diseases  to  which  all  whose  exemp- 
tion has  not  thus  been  secured  are  constantly  liable;  and 
their  minds  and  bodies  are  alert  and  receptive  toward  the  new 
ideas  and  the  physical  requirements  of  discipline  and  drill, 
although  at  first  they  may  not  be  very  docile.  Town  recruits 
are  also  apt  to  have  had  some  training  in  the  mechanical 
trades,  valuable  accomplishments  in  war.  They  must  be 
more  carefully  scrutiniaed  than  rural  recruits  for  the  physical 
signs  of  vice. 

To  young  men  from  the  country  whose  mode  of  life  has  been 
uneventful,  with  abundant  and  regular  meals,  unbroken  and 
sufficient  sleep,  and  uniform  toil  in  the  open  air,  the  irregular 
and  sometimes  indifferent  meals  in  the  field,  the  scanty 
Country  shelter  and  the  broken  rest,  the  unusual  nervous 
recruits  strain  of  new  conditions  and  of  peril,  as  often  im- 
aginary as  actual,  are  exhausting;  they  find  the  habit  of  exact, 
unquestioning,  and  immediate  action  difficult  to  acquire; 

40 


PHYSICAL  ORGANIZATION  OF  NEW  ARMIES  41 

and  above  all  there  is  the  certainty  that  they  will  contract  such 
diseases  as  measles  and  mumps,  frequently  whooping-cough, 
and  occasionally  scarlet  fever,  all  serious  in  the  field,  which 
there  is  reasonable  assurance  that  the  townsmen  may  have 
had  once  for  all  in  childhood.  This  is  strikingly  shown  in 
the  contrast  between  the  health  of  town  and  contrast 
country  companies  when,  as  sometimes  happens,  within  a 
the  same  regiment  contains  both.  However,  resiment 
after  a  year's  training  and  elimination  in  the  field  the  some- 
what seasoned  remainder  of  the  country  recruits  will  usually 
exhibit  greater  ultimate  endurance.  With  both  classes,  and 
especially  with  the  country-bred,  not  only  should  minors  be 
excluded  as  far  as  possible,  but  preference  be  given  to  men 
of  really  mature  physique.  A  capital  illustration  of  the  prac- 
tical value  of  this  rule  was  observed  in  a  Missouri  regiment 
in  camp  at  Chickamauga  in  1898.  It  preserved  excellent 
health  in  local  conditions  that  were  particularly  Example  of 
unfavorable  (for  which  it  was  not  responsible)  and  maturity 
amid  much  surrounding  illness.  The  men,  who  were  town- 
bred  and  far  above  the  legal  maturity,  had  been  carefully 
selected  by  an  intelligent  officer  of  the  National  Guard  who 
made  a  practical  application  of  his  study  and  experience. 

After  muster-in  all  volunteers  should  be  detained  for  a 
short  time  in  camps  of  observation  to  weed  out  imperfect 
men  inadvertently  accepted.  The  exceptions  are  Becmit 
conscripts  and  men  enlisted  under  excessive  campa 
bounties,  who  should  be  allotted  to  active  regiments  in  the 
field  without  delay.  For  physical  as  well  as  moral  reasons 
the  government  should  distribute  such  men  among  experienced 
troops  for  inspiration,  instruction  and  restraint.  Any  actual 
infirmities  overlooked  at  enlistment  will  soon  develop  without 
the  encouragement  of  a  special  camp,  while  a  certain  propor- 
tion of  minor  ailments  will  be  forgotten  in  the  diversion 
of  active  war.  Newly  raised  troops  undergoing  instruction 
and  observation  are  better  encamped  out  of  their  own  state, 
certainly  away  from  their  immediate  vicinage,  to  avoid 


42  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

commiseration  on  the  one  hand  and  laudation  on  the  other, 
both  of  which  are  prejudicial  to  efficiency;  and,  as  effectiveness 
is  conditioned  upon  vigor,  even  at  that  date  all  whose  real 
unsoundness  may  then  be  exposed  should  be  discharged, 
and  the  civil  origin  of  their  preexisting  disabilities  be  clearly 
noted  on  their  papers.  Enormous  camps  of  new  troops,  as 
sometimes  organized,  are  objectionable  because,  among  other 
reasons,  of  the  facility  with  which  diseases,  especially  those 
that  depend  upon  the  presence  of  other  cases,  are  propagated. 
Danger  of  The  difficulty  of  administration  increases  directly 
great  camps  as  the  size  of  the  camp,  and  such  an  epidemic  as 
of  recruits  measieS)  for  example,  once  started  will  rapidly 
attack  all  who  are  susceptible.  In  like  manner  typhoid  fever, 
difficult  of  limitation  and  always  to  be  found  somewhere 
in  a  recruit  camp  of  any  duration,  will  lay  waste  the  whole 
if  allowed  headway. 

Recruiting,  although  not  strictly  a  subdivision  of  hygiene, 
is  thus  dwelt  upon  because  the  foundation  of  any  military 
structure  is  its  physical  condition,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
secure  an  efficient  army  unless  the  men  are  carefully  selected. 
After  enlistment,  an  equal  duty  rests  upon  company  and  other 
officers  that  these  men  are  not  impaired  by  their  new  sur- 
roundings. 


X 

SICKNESS    AND    VIOLENCE    COMPARED 

Very  little  sickness  is  spontaneous,  and  with  an  army  of 
sound  men  there  is  no  good  reason  why  there  should  be  much 
loss  of  duty  from  disease.  When  company  and  senior  officers 
study  for  themselves  the  problems  of  ventilation,  of  food,  of 
the  healthfulness  of  camps,  of  water-supply,  of  the  disposal 
of  excreta,  when  they  concern  themselves  with  soldiers  as 
physiological  agents  rather  than  as  automata,  the  army  will 
be  prepared  for  the  highest  exhibition  of  sustained  action. 
But  hitherto  sickness  has  ravaged  armies  and  determined 
campaigns,  so  that  the  real  measure  of  physical  incapacity 
has  been  the  amount  of  disease  rather  than  the  number  of 
deaths.  Morbidity,  or  the  sick-rate,  therefore  is  more  effec- 
tive in  influencing  operations  than  mortality  or 
the  death-rate,  battle-losses  excepted.  This  is 
because  the  sick  are  for  the  time  as  ineffective  as  the  dead, 
and  their  care,  especially  the  care  of  the  seriously  ill,  is  a 
greater  drain  upon  the  resources  of  the  living  than  would 
be  substitution  for  those  killed  in  action.  Further,  the  pres- 
ence of  the  sick  implies  the  existence  of  a  continuing  cause, 
whereas  engagements  are  usually  the  consequence  of  election, 
to  be  accepted  or  avoided  at  pleasure.  It  matters  very  little 
what  the  particular  cause  of  the  unfitness  may  be  at  any  one 
time,  as  long  as  so  many  men  are  then  unfit  for  duty.  The 
actual  and  the  probable  sick  reports  combined  restrain  a  com- 
mand by  interfering  with  its  mobility  and  weakening  its 
fighting  power.  By  the  probable  sick  report  is  Probable 
meant  such  a  state  of  health  or  endurance  that  sick  reP°rt 
while  the  command  may  do  a  certain  form  of  duty,  say  in 
garrison,  it  might  not  be  able  to  take  the  field  or  to  undergo 

43 


44  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

peculiar  hardships,  or  being  in  the  field,  it  would  be  unable 
to  overcome  certain  further  obstacles  of  climate  or  contamina- 
tion. Of  course  the  probable  sick  report  might  be  more  favor- 
able and  encourage  operations  that  the  actual  sick  report 
would  preclude,  but  that  is  not  the  usual  prospect. 

As  would  be  supposed,  in  peace,  notwithstanding  sanitary 
conditions  may  be  assumed  to  be  at  their  best,  casualties  by 
violence  are  so  few  that  disability  from  disease  is  very  much 
in  excess  of  that  from  injury.  But  it  is  in  war  that  fatal  sick- 
ness, quite  independently  of  that  which  is  recovered  from  or 
which  leads  to  discharge  without  immediate  loss  of  life,  so 
far  overbalances  the  mortality  of  battle.  For  instance:  In 
Mexico  (1846-7)  among  the  United  States  regulars  the  deaths 
in  the  field  from  disease  were  nearly  five  to  every  one  from 
Mortality  wounds,  and  among  the  volunteers  it  was  about 
from  illness  seven  to  one.  During  the  Rebellion  (1861-5),  of 
and  from  the  Union  white  troops  there  died  nearly  two  to 
one  and  of  the  colored  troops  nearly  nine  to 
one  by  disease  over  injury,  besides  the  enormous  number  dis- 
charged for  disability.  The  Santiago  campaign  (1898),  suc- 
cessful without  great  loss  in  the  direct  collision,  culminated 
in  the  virtual  dissolution  from  disease  of  the  invading  corps 
as  a  further  aggressive  force.  Harrington,  consolidating  the 
Cuban  and  Philippine  campaigns  for  the  year  ending  April  30, 
1899,  placed  the  deaths  from  disease  at  five  and  six-tenths 
(5.6)  to  one  from  traumatism.  These  figures  have  not  been 
verified,  but  it  is  certainly  the  case  that  in  the  Philippines 
the  number  constantly  sick  was  vastly  greater  than  those 
off  duty  from  wounds.  That  the  German  army  in  1870-1 
kept  its  mortality  from  disease  below  that  from  battle  prob- 
ably depended  largely  upon  the  shortness  of  the  war,  the 
rapid  succession  of  severe  engagements,  the  highly  trained 
troops,  and  presumably  upon  its  exact  discipline  being  exerted 
for  the  care  of  the  men  as  well  as  in  other  directions.  In  the 
Russo-Japanese  war  the  mortality  from  disease  among  the 
Japanese  as  compared  with  that  from  wounds  was  as  three 


SICKNESS  AND   VIOLENCE  COMPARED  45 

to  two,  and  Major  Lynch,  Med.  Corps,  U.S.A.,  who  was  present, 
expresses  the  opinion  that,  considering  the  duration  of  the 
hostilities  and  the  country  where  they  were  carried  on,  the 
hygienic  results  of  the  Japanese  were  "  decidedly  superior  to 
those  of  the  Germans,"  by  whom  "previous  to  this  the  best 
figures  were  obtained  "  (Mil.  06s.,  p.  185).  He  adds  that, 
excluding  beriberi  "  the  Japanese  could  have  shown  results 
[with  the  diseases  common  to  western  armies]  so  good  that 
they  would  have  upset  previous  ideas  on  the  subject  of  sani- 
tation in  war"  (p.  186).  It  should  further  be  remembered 
that  the  mortality  from  wounds  not  directly  fatal  was  also 
greatly  reduced.  As  a  consequence  of  this  diminution  in 
the  aggregate  of  battle  fatalities  the  proportion  of  deaths 
from  disease  among  the  Japanese  was,  in  comparison,  reduced 
by  that  much;  for  had  the  consecutive  battle  mortality 
remained  at  the  older  rate  the  relative  exemption  from  fatal 
disease  as  compared  with  other  armies  would  have  been 
raised  still  higher.  Major  Lynch  attributes  this  happy  con- 
dition to  no  special  immunity  of  the  Japanese  soldiers  from 
those  or  other  diseases,  but  to  their  being  sturdy  men,  inured 
to  hardship  at  home,  whose  high  strain  of  discipline  assisted 
them  in  being  guided  by  the  sanitary  instruction  their  officers 
imparted  and  to  the  zeal  of  the  officers  in  thus  caring  for  the 
men.  Surely  that  should  not  be  an  impossible  standard  for 
Americans  to  attain. 


XI 

MILITARY   CLOTHING:  CHARACTERISTICS    AND 
MATERIAL 

As  the  non-essentials  of  dress  are  usually  objectionable 
as  well  as  valueless  in  war,  the  clothing  that  the  soldier  must 
wear  should  be  simple  and  suited  to  his  arduous 
work.  The  essential  object  of  all  clothing  is  the 
protection  of  the  person  from  extremes  of  temperature,  by 
conserving  bodily  heat  in  cold  weather  and  preventing  dis- 
comfort or  harm  from  solar  heat  or  that  generated  by  exercise. 
A  secondary  object  of  military  clothing  is  to  foster  proper 
professional  pride  in  the  soldier,  to  aid  in  determining  his 
place  in  the  army,  and  to  render  him  inconspicuous  to  the 
Distinctive  enemy.  For  facility  of  administration  each  arm 
markings  of  ^he  service  should  have  its  distinctive  dress, 
and  the  subdivisions  of  large  commands  may  conveniently 
be  identified  by  conventional  badges  assigned' to  the  respective 
army  corps.  Examples  of  such  corps  badges  would  be  the 
Maltese,  the  Greek,  or  the  St.  Andrew's  cross,  the  trefoil, 
the  diamond,  the  triangle,  all  cut  from  cloth  and  most  satis- 
factorily attached  to  the  hat.  Those  of  the  first  division  would 
be  red;  of  the  second,,  white;  of  the  third,  blue  on  a  white 
ground  following  the  order  of  our  tricolor;  and  where  there 
is  a  fourth  division,  orange  or  yellow.  This  simple  device 
encourages  the  feeling  of  comradeship  and  is  valuable  for 
identification,  and  at  the  same  time  it  is  not  discernible  by 
the  foe.  Conspicuous  marks  having  regimental  significance, 
Regimental  such  as  newly  raised  and  enthusiastic  volunteers,  or 
symbols  state  troops  called  out  for  the  time  under  the  older 
methods,  are  tempted  to  adopt,  should  never  be  permitted. 
They  are  a  sign  of  rawness  and  their  ultimate  effect  is  to  draw 

46 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  MATERIAL  47 

fire.  Less  obtrusive  distinctions,  as  regimental  facings,  are 
sometimes  advocated  in  the  interest  of  regimental  esprit,  and 
good  results  should  follow  their  adoption  by  good  troops. 
But  a  minor  objection  to  their  use  is  that  of  cost,  and  a 
serious  one  is  the  difficulty  of  supply  in  war  when  they  are 
most  desirable.  The  British  suffered  severely  in  the  Crimea 
through  the  attempt  to  maintain  distinctive  regimental 
clothing,  and  their  men  were  insufficiently  clad  until  it  was 
abandoned.  Doubtless  our  state  troops  will  long  continue 
to  wear  showy  dress  uniforms  for  purposes  of  display,  and 
these  effect  a  useful  end  in  appealing  for  recruits.  But  their 
fighting  clothing,  the  undress,  should  be  identical  with  that 
of  the  United  States  for  security  and  especially  for  con- 
venience of  administration. 

Color  has  a  greater  military  and  physiological  importance 
in  clothing  than  its  aesthetic  significance,  and  soldiers'  gar- 
ments should  be  neutral  in  tint.  The  most  ser- 

Color 

viceable  colors,  especially  under  exposure  to 
long-range  firearms,  are  the  least  showy,  being  shades  of  gray 
and  drab,  next  to  which  is  a  light  butternut  dye.  Their 
visibility  marks  the  order  in  which  colors  attract  observation, 
that  is,  the  order  in  which  they  draw  hostile  fire,  and  the 
range  runs  red,  white,  black  or  dark  blue,  light  blue,  butter- 
nut, dust-  and  olive-gray,  and  drab,  practical  illustration  of 
which  is  the  every-day  use  of  red  and  white  for  surveyors' 
flags  or  signals.  Scarlet  tells  with  great  effect  upon  the 
wearer,  and  certain  so-called  zouave  regiments  have  left  upon 
the  field  killed  who  might  have  been  spared  in  plainer  dress. 
The  old  white  cross-belts  have  often  served  as  a  shining  mark 
for  death,  and  the  same  has  been  occasionally  true  for  the 
infantry  shoulder-straps  on  the  khaki  coat,  at  one  time 
required,  glaring  white  objects  between  which  to  aim.  Gray 
as  a  designation  covers  a  considerable  range,  and  at  one  end 
of  the  scale  it  differs  but  little  from  light  blue.  In  large 
masses  dust-gray,  the  true  khaki  hue,  and  olive-drab  are  most 
nearly  invisible.  This  is  particularly  true  for  arid  countries 


48  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  among  tree-trunks,  for  the  contrast  with  the  background 
is  an  element  of  distinctness  which  materially  affects  con- 
cealment or  discovery.  The  ordinary  stain  of  the  soil  also 
is  less  visible  upon  these  neutral  tints,  so  that  they  better 
preserve  the  appearance,  if  not  the  fact,  of  neatness  in  the 
execution  of  rough  work.  The  color  of  the  full-dress  uniform, 
used  only  on  occasions  of  ceremony  for  display  and  then  for 
relatively  short  periods,  has  no  particular  hygienic  signifi- 
cance except  in  the  tropics,  where  the  effect  of  the  sun's  rays 
requires  it  to  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  to  white. 

The  heat  of  the  body  which  may  be  modified  by  clothing 
is  practically  that  generated  by  the  body  itself  or  that  derived 
Heat  and  from  the  sun.  The  exception,  which  is  unim- 
clothing  portant,  is  the  warmth  from  fires,  or  from  other 
substances  previously  heated.  Clothes  by  themselves  do  not 
create  heat,  as  is  clearly  demonstrated  by  clothing  an  inani- 
mate object  and  keeping  it  out  of  the  sun's  rays,  when  its 
temperature  will  remain  that  of  the  surrounding  air.  The 
color  of  clothing  has  no  influence  upon  the  retention  or  the 
Relation  of  was^e  of  physiological  heat,  that  generated  by 
color  to  heat  the  body;  but  color  does  modify  the  heat  received 
and  chemical  directly  from  the  sun's  rays,  although  it  does  not 
affect  solar  heat  out  of  those  rays.  This  influence 
of  color  is  quite  irrespective  of  texture,  so  that  protection 
against  direct  solar  heat  depends  entirely  upon  the  color  itself, 
the  absorption  being  graduated  by  the  shade  of  the  fabric. 
White  absorbs  the  least  heat  and  is  therefore  the  coolest; 
black  the  most,  and  is  the  warmest;  and  blue  is  next  to  black. 
A  thin  white  tissue  worn  over  a  dark  cloth  coat  has  been 
found  to  reduce  the  superficial  temperature  in  very  hot 
sun's  rays  by  12.6°  F.  Besides  the  rays  of  heat  and  the  visible 
rays  of  light,  there  are  emitted  by  the  sun  other  rays  which 
accompany  visible  light  and  are  known  as  the  chemical  rays. 
These  are  not  recognized  by  the  senses,  but  there  is  increasing 
reason  to  believe  that  when  in  excess  they  may  act  injuriously 
on  the  human  system.  The  chemical  rays  are  neutralized 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:    MATERIAL  49 

by  the  interposition  of  an  orange  barrier,  as  familiarly  recog- 
nized in  the  photographer's  dark  room.  They  are  equally 
intercepted  by  orange  clothing,  whether  that  is  on  the  outside 
or  is  concealed  nearer  the  skin.  Reasons  why  light  and  heat 
should  sometimes  be  modified  will  be  given  further  on. 

The  absorption  of  animal  odors  by  clothing  depends  partly 
upon  the  color  and  partly  upon  the  texture  of  the  articles 
worn.     Black  absorbs  odors   most  readily,   blue 
the  next,  white  the  least.     Dark  colors,  therefore, 
should  not  be  worn  by  those  associated  with  the  sick,  and  dark 
underclothing,   instinctively   avoided,   would  be   unpleasant 
next  the  skin  unless  changed  very  frequently,  as  are  stockings. 
The   hygroscopic   quality  of  the   material   also   affects   the 
absorption  of  odors. 

The  internal  temperature  of  the  body  is  100°  F.,  decreasing 
toward  the  surface  until  it  is  98.4°  near  the  skin.     The  act 
of  living  generates  heat  by  the  chemical  changes   Bodily 
taking  place  in  the  body.     These   vary  a  little  temperature 
according  to  diet,  and  always  are  greatly  increased  by  physical 
exertion.     For   the   bodily   temperature   to    remain   several 
degrees   below   the   normal   would   result   fatally,    and  any 
decided  rise  above  the  standard  implies  illness.     That  is, 
life  cannot  be  maintained  when  the  temperature  is  materially 
depressed  for  any  length  of  time  by  artificial  means;    and 
the  condition  of  being  superheated  is  also  morbid,  so  that  a 
considerable  unrelieved  excess  leads  to  death.     We  adjust 
our  personal  temperature  by  conserving  it  when  the  atmos- 
phere is  too  cold  and  by  radiation  when  it  is  too  hot,  the 
chief  agency  through  which  this  is  done  being  the  clothing. 
We  therefore  speak  of  clothing  as  warm  or  cool,    Regulation 
as  it  retains  the  heat  of  the  body  or  allows  it  to    of  tempera- 
escape,  although  intrinsically  no  clothing  possesses   ture 
the   quality   of   warmth   or   coolness.     Besides   the   natural 
tendency  of  all  bodies  to  equalize  their  tempera-   Cooling  by 
ture  through  radiation,  the   evaporation   of   the   perspiration 
perspiration  which  is  induced  by  exercise  sensibly  reduces  the 


50  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

heat  which  that  exercise  creates.  But  although  it  is  reduced, 
the  development  of  heat  does  not  at  once  cease  when  exercise 
stops,  and  the  perspiration  continues  flowing  for  a  time. 
Hence  continuous  rapid  evaporation,  if  unbalanced  by  the 
production  of  heat  or  unchecked  by  the  absorption  of  the 
fluid  in  the  clothing,  may  chill  the  body  and  is  liable  to  be 
followed  by  sickness.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  clothing 
interferes  with  the  natural  radiation  from  the  body,  or  with 
the  vaporization  of  the  perspiration,  there  will  be  an  un- 
comfortable and  sometimes  a  dangerous  accumulation  of  heat. 
It  is  to  be  remembered,  then,  that  although  clothing  creates 
no  heat  it  regulates  that  of  the  body  according  to  its  texture. 
Heat  Either  being  a  poor  conductor  it  prevents  the 

conduction  body-heat  from  escaping,  or  the  radiation  through 
inadequate  protection  and  especially  the  evaporation  when 
wet  reduces  the  temperature  too  rapidly  for  the  maintenance 
of  health.  Hence  the  character  of  clothing  upon  which  the 
conduction  of  heat  depends  is  an  important  consideration 
whose  neglect  has  led  to  disease  and  ultimately  to  death. 
The  common  materials  for  military  clothing  are 
wool,  cotton,  and  occasionally  linen,  with  leather, 
india-rubber,  canvas,  and  oiled  cloth  as  auxiliary.  Both 
cotton  and  linen  conduct  heat  rapidly  and  hence  are  regarded 
Cotton  and  as  "cool"  clothing.  They  are  therefore  unsuited 
linen  for  the  colder  climates  and  especially  for  situa- 

tions where  the  atmospheric  changes  are  abrupt  or  extreme. 
Neither  cotton  nor  linen  absorbs  water  well.  They  readily 
become  wet,  but  they  do  not  take  up  the  water.  Hence 
they  speedily  become  drenched  by  perspiration  and  its  rapid 
evaporation  proceeds  practically  unchecked.  By  themselves, 
therefore,  both  of  these  materials  are  unsuited  for  ordinary 
military  clothing  in  any  climate,  and  when  exclusively  used 
they  are  dangerous  for  men  liable,  as  soldiers  are,  to  violent 
exertion  followed  by  sudden  unguarded  rest.  The  uncon- 
trolled evaporation  cools  the  body  too  promptly  and  leads 
to  chilling  from  which  illness  may  follow.  Nevertheless  when 


MILITARY   CLOTHING:   MATERIAL  51 

the  temperature  of  the  air  in  the  shade  approaches  the  normal 
heat  of  the  body  (100°  F.)  and  that  in  the  sun  is  much  above 
it,  the  system  becomes  enervated  and  the  clothing  should 
not  add  to  the  embarrassment,  as  heavy  wool,  once  the  univer- 
sal military  dress,  would  do.  On  that  account  the  fabric 

known  as  khaki  is  made  in  cotton  as  well  as  in 

Cotton  khaki 
wool    (serge).     The    use    of    cotton,    whether    as 

khaki  or  as  ordinary  drill,  presupposes  as  a  sanitary  measure, 
for  reasons  presently  to  be  explained,  a  light  woollen  under- 
shirt also.  A  special  weave  of  linen  for  under-  i,inen  un. 
wear  is  now  on  the  market  for  which  it  is  claimed  derwear 
that  so  much  air  is  entangled  in  an  open  mesh  as  to  make  it  a 
partial  and  a  pleasant  substitute  for  woollen;  but  on  theoreti- 
cal grounds  this  hardly  seems  safe.  Linen  is  too  costly  for 
general  issue,  but  cotton  is  cheap  and  very  durable.  There- 
fore in  tropical  climates  olive-drab  cotton  khaki,  guarded 
by  mixed  woollen  underwear,  is  appropriate.  But  starched 
cotton  and  linen  are  nearly  impermeable  to  the  air  until  broken 
down  by  perspiration,  and  hence  they  are  very  hot. 

Wool  conducts  heat  badly  and  absorbs  water  freely  in  two 
ways.  The  water  permeates  and  distends  the  fibres  of  the 
wool  (hygroscopic  water)  and  it  collects  between 
the  fibres  (water  of  interposition).  As  compared 
with  cotton  or  linen,  wool  absorbs  hygroscopically  at  least 
double  in  proportion  to  its  weight  and  quadruple  in  proportion 
to  its  surface.  Dry  woollen  clothing  condenses  the  vapor 
given  out  from  the  surface  of  the  body  as  insensible  perspira- 
tion, and  much  heat  that  had  become  latent  when  the  fluid 
was  vaporized  is  then  released.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  dry  woollen  clothing  yields  a  sense  of  warmth.  It  also 
absorbs  the  perspiration  that  persists  after  excessive  exercise 
has  ceased,  and  thus  prevents  its  evaporation  and  the  con- 
sequently abrupt  cooling  of  the  body.  And  while  dry  woollen 
clothing  is  more  desirable  than  wet,  bodily  moisture  rarely 
saturates  woollen  clothes.  When  it  does,  they  may  be  suffi- 
ciently dried  by  wringing  to  become  available  for  further 


52  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

condensing  and  absorbing  perspiration.  Wool  withstands 
cold  winds  and  through  its  quality  of  non-conduction  the 
heat  of  the  body  is  not  dissipated.  Valuable  as  these  attri- 
butes are  in  cold  climates,  it  is  always  distressing  and  some- 
times fatal  to  encase  in  woollen  uniforms  soldiers  on  active 
tropical  duty.  This  has  been  done  in  earlier  years  in  foreign 
armies  with  disastrous  consequences,  and  is  referred  to  now 
simply  as  an  example  to  be  avoided.  Even  were  heavy 
marching  or  fighting  not  required,  the  tendency  to  accumulate 
merely  the  normal  heat  of  the  body,  radiation  being  lessened, 
is  distinctly  weakening  in  a  torrid  climate,  and  the  longer 
that  condition  is  maintained  the  greater  the  depression  it 
causes.  So  also  while  the  short  northern  summer  burns, 
the  heavy  woollen  coat  and  trousers  in  New  York  are  nearly 
as  trying  as  in  Luzon.  On  the  other  hand,  the  very  qualities 
that  make  wool  baneful  in  hot  and  humid  climates  are  those 
which  give  it  special  value  in  cold  and  windy  regions.  Its 
peculiar  ability  to  absorb  perspiration  and  thus,  through 
suitable  grades  of  underclothing,  to  maintain  an  appropriate 
body-temperature  makes  wool,  in  one  form  or  another,  the 
most  important  material  for  purposes  of  dress. 

Where  the  climate  is  suitable,  the  chief  inconvenience  in 
Disadvan-  using  woollen  clothing  is  the  difficulty  of  wash- 
tageofwool  ing  it.  In  washing,  wool  is  apt  to  shrink  in 
fibre,  so  that  after  a  time  the  whole  becomes  smaller,  harder, 
and  less  absorbent.  That  is  to  say,  it  shrinks  in  all  its  dimen- 
sions and  fails  to  take  up  perspiration  freely.  This  bars 
the  issue  of  pure  woollen  underclothing  for  the  field,  except 
at  the  cost  of  frequent  renewals.  The  intermixture  with 
wool  of  thirty  per  cent,  cotton  makes  what  is 
called  merino,  which  is  a  tolerable  substitute  for 
pure  wool.  In  washing  woollens  they  should  be  put  into  hot 
To  wash  soapsuds  and  moved  about  freely,  then  be  plunged 
woollens  in  cold  water,  and  when  the  soap  has  disappeared 
be  hung  up  without  wringing.  Woollens  should  never  be 
rubbed  nor  wrung  after  washing  (Parkes).  Or  the  woollens 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  MATERIAL  53 

may  be  put  by  themselves  into  lukewarm  water  which  has 
abundant  soap  in  it,  but  soap  is  not  to  be  rubbed  on  the  clothes. 
They  should  then  be  freely  moved  about  for  cleansing,  and 
be  rinsed  well,  without  rubbing,  in  clean  water  of  the  same 
temperature  and  be  hung  to  dry  without  rubbing  or  wringing. 
They  should  be  stretched  a  little  while  drying  to  counteract 
possible  shrinking.  The  soap  used  with  woollens  should  be 
carefully  selected  so  as  to  be  free  from  excess  of  alkali,  whose 
action  on  the  natural  fat  would  injure  the  wool  itself. 

There  was  formerly  a  widespread  opinion  that  an  all-wool 
dress  is  a  partial  preventive  against   the   malarial    poison. 
Whatever  foundation  there  may  be  for  the  com-    ^nti_ 
parative   immunity  of    wool-clad   men,  probably    malarial 
depends  on  the  equable  temperature  thus  main-    Pr°Perties 
tained  which  adds  to  the  resistance  of  the  system  and  to 
the    mechanical   guard  which  the  greater  thickness  of    the 
dress  presents  against  the  mosquito.      Worsted  is  a  species 
of  woollen  cloth  whose  fibres  are  hard-twisted  and  parallel,  of 
which  serge  is  a  variety.     Both  have  the  advan-    worsted, 
tage  of  lightness  combined  with  the  good  qualities    serge,  and 
of  the  lesser  woollens.    Flannel  is  loosely  woven    flannel 
and  soft  with  a  nap-like  surface  but  of  various  degrees  of 
thickness.     It  is  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  used  for  under- 
wear.    Flannelette  and  Canton  flannel  are  not  true  flannels; 
that  is,  they  are  cotton  and  not  woollen.      They  have  a 
soft  and  sometimes  long  nap  which   adds   to   their  warmth, 
and  hence  they  sometimes  are  mistakenly  classed  as  woollen 
goods.     Closely  woven  cloth,  whatever  the  material,  takes 
up  dust  less  readily  and  parts  with  it  more  easily  than  that 
of  loose  texture.     Because  they  are  so  accessible  to  dust,  the 
lighter    woollens    should   be   carefully   brushed   after   every 
using,  for  dust  may  be  a  vehicle  of  disease,  as  it  is  a  mark  of 
uncleanliness. 

Shoddy  is  old,  used,  and  worked-over  wool  and  cloth  and 
is  a  legitimate  article  of  commerce  with  defined  uses.  But, 
besides,  it  frequently  is  mixed  with  fresh  wool  as  an  adul- 


54  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

terant,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  manufactured  product. 

Its   presence    is   most    easily  detected  by  its  coefficient  of 

tearing.     Such    adulteration  prevails   under  the 

greed  which  war-contracts  foster  and  should  be 

carefully  inspected  against.    Tests   for  woollen   cloth   are: 

When  held  against  the  light    it    should    show  a    uniform 

texture,   free    from  holes;    folded   and   suddenly 

stretched,  it -should  give  a  clear  ringing  note;  it 

should  resist  well  when  violently  stretched;  to  the  touch  the 

texture  must  be  smooth  and  soft;  to  the  eye  it  should  be  close 

and  free  from  straggly  hair;  and  the  heavier  any  particular 

parcel  is  to  its  superficies  the  better. 

Of  the  auxiliary  materials  for  military  clothing,  leather 
in  its  several  forms  is  the  most  important.  Properly  tanned 
it  is  practically  impervious  to  the  wind,  so  that 
hides  dressed  with  the  hair  or  wool  retained  are 
wisely  used  in  cold  and  rainless  climates  the  world  over  as 
great-coats  in  which  to  withstand  exposure.  Civilians  use 
the  buffalo,  bear,  or  sheepskin  overcoats  along  our  northern 
frontier  and  on  the  bitter  plains  of  the  northwest.  Such 
coats,  carried  as  public  property  and  charged  against  the 
soldier  only  when  damaged  wilfully  or  by  neglect,  are  well 
worth  their  cost  in  the  comfort  they  secure  to  the  men  and 
the  efficiency  they  enable  the  wearers  to  display.  But  except 
as  foot-gear,  dressed  leather  clothing,  whether  bison  or  buck- 
skin, is  fit  only  for  rainless  climates. 

Heavy  canvas  sheds  water  and  is  an  excellent  non-con- 
ductor of  heat,  but  when  heavy  it  is  too  heavy  and  cumber- 
some to  be  convenient  as  a  garment.     Lined  with 
wool,  canvas  used  as  an  overcoat  defends  admi- 
rably against  cold.     Light  canvas  is  well  adapted  for  fatigue 
duty.     When  very  light  canvas  is  first  thoroughly  washed 
and  then  carefully  soaked  with  oil  in  several  successive  coats, 
each  slowly  dried  in  the  sun,  it  becomes  waterproof. 

India-rubber    is    invaluable    as    a    temporary    protection 
against  rain  and  wet  in  general.     It  cannot  be  worn  persist- 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:   MATERIAL  55 

ently  because  it  does  not  allow  the  perspiration  to  evap- 
orate, and  it  retains  the  heat  of  the  body  to  a  degree  that 

in  most  climates  is  distressing.    It  is  best  adapted 

f      .,  ,          .,      ,     ,.  .,  India-rubber 

to  temperate  regions,  for  it  loses  its  elasticity  where 

the  weather  is  very  cold  and  it  becomes  distensible  where 
it  is  hot.  Its  life  is  limited  by  its  ultimate  decay  through 
the  absorption  of  oxygen.  As  a  water-proof  sheet  to  intercept 
moisture  from  the  ground  it  has  great  value,  but  some  other 
material  should  be  interposed  between  it  and  the  body  while 
sleeping.  The  rubber  sheet  was  formerly,  but  is  no  longer, 
issued.  A  water-proofing  process  devised  by  Major  Munson, 
medical  corps,  when  applied  to  ordinary  clothing  Munson's 
enables  it  to  shed  heavy  rain  for  several  hours,  water-proof- 
it  possesses  the  great  advantage  of  not  impairing  m* 
the  ventilation,  so  that  the  perspiration  continues  to  escape 
insensibly  by  vaporization.  Garments  treated  thus  do  not 
lose  their  shape,  and  under  exposure  to  storm  there  is  no 
sense  of  bearing  about  wet  clothing.  Animal  fabrics  respond 
to  the  process  better  than  those  that  are  vegetable,  but  the 
latter  can  acquire  this  protection.  This  attribute  is  destroyed 
by  boiling  water  or  strongly  alkaline  soap,  but  it  may  be 
resumed  by  re-immersion  in  the  water-proof  bath.  Because 
of  these  limitations  and  because  it  does  not  keep  out  the 
wind,  it  is  not  constantly  available;  but  so  far  as  it  resists  all 
moisture  without  requiring  an  additional  garment,  it  should 
be  very  serviceable. 


XII 

MILITARY  CLOTHING:   APPAREL 

The  ideal  military  head-covering  should  protect  against 
atmospheric  heat  and  cold,  rain,  the  glare  of  the  sun,  and 
Head-  the  solar  heat  and  actinic  (chemical)  rays.  It 

covering  should  be  attractive  on  parade,  convenient  under 
arms,  useful  in  camp  and  bivouac.  Such  has  not  been  found 
in  any  service,  and  it  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  single 
head-dress  can  ever  satisfy  all  these  conditions.  The  best  to 
be  hoped  for  is  something  which  will  fill  the  most  important 
requirements  according  to  region,  season  and  duty.  In  very 
cold  weather  it  should  keep  the  ears  as  well  as  the  head 
normally  warm;  it  should  be  so  nearly  water-proof  as  to  shed 
heavy  rain,  and  yet  be  permeable  by  the  atmosphere  and 
permit  ventilation  practically  equal  to  that  enjoyed  by  the 
body;  rain  should  be  diverted  from  the  back  of  the  neck; 
and  the  eyes  should  be  protected  from  the  direct  rays  of  light 
and  from  brilliant  reflection  in  arid  regions.  Above  all,  in 
subtropical  and  tropical  countries '  the  head  must  be  pro- 
Tropical  re-  tected  against  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  which 
quirements  carry  light,  heat,  and  actinism  side  by  side.  This 
is  less  because  of  sunstroke  pure  and  simple  than  on  account 
of  the  possible  nervous  degeneration  that  may  thus  be  in- 
duced. In  any  really  hot  climate  free  ventilation  over  the 
scalp,  to  reduce  the  local  temperature,  is  required.  It  has 
not  been  definitely  determined,  but  it  is  probable,  that  under 
extreme  heat  the  action  of  the  brain  and  spinal  cord,  which 
are  the  controlling  centres  of  nervous  action,  may  become 
impaired,  and,  more  than  that,  that  those  nervous  masses 
themselves  may  undergo  deterioration  and  that  some  of  the 
fluids  necessary  for  muscular  and  nervous  action  may  also  be 

56 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:    APPAREL  57 

altered.  Neither  have  been  published  definite  measurements 
of  the  degree  of  heat  found  within  unventilated  hats  and  caps. 
But  it  is  not  an  extravagant  assumption  that,  besides  recog- 
nized discomfort,  such  excess  causes  serious  and  disqualifying 
harm.  These  remarks  apply  also,  but  with  somewhat  fess 
force,  to  other  parts  of  the  body  and  especially  to  the  spinal 
cord,  enclosed  and  protected  as  it  is  by  the  spinal  column. 
The  cap  which  of  one  material  or  the  other  is  required  to  be 
worn  in  garrison  and  on  duty,  excepting  when 
in  the  field,  by  all  enlisted  men  is  three  and  a 
half  inches  deep  with  an  overhanging  crown.  It  has  a  short, 
inclined,  green-lined  visor.  This  affords  sufficient  air  space 
in  temperate  climates.  For  full-dress  and  dress  occasions 
the  cap  is  of  blue  cloth,  but  these  are  so  rare  and  so  temporary 
that  their  hygienic  consideration  may  be  neglected.  For  all 
other  service,  not  field  duty,  the  cap  is  of  olive-drab  serge 
or  of  cotton  khaki.  It  affords  no  protection  below  the  line 
of  contact,  except  moderately  by  the  visor  for  the  eyes, 
and  it  is  not  adapted  for  extreme  climates.  In  the  field 
the  service  hat  is  worn.  Officers  not  on  formal  duty 
may  wear  a  light  white  cap  with  white  outer  garments 
in  garrison. 

A  felt  hat  of  the  color  of  the  service  uniform  with  a  moder- 
ately broad  brim  is  now  issued  for  field  duty.  It  is  nearly 
the  equivalent  of  the  older  campaign  hat,  which,  . 
although  not  faultless,  stood  the  test  of  service 
and  proved  acceptable  in  all  climates.  The  crown  is  toler- 
ably high,  and  when  this  is  drawn  to  a  peak  (which  in  the  older 
hat  was  forbidden  in  the  interest  of  appearance),  the  air-space 
is  materially  increased  and  there  is  no  crease  to  retain  rain- 
water. In  the  absence  of  actual  experience  with  it,  the  bulk 
and  comparative  weight  of  this  hat  would  tend  to  condemn 
it  for  tropical  field  work;  but  in  fact  the  campaign  hat  was 
popular  in  active  Philippine  service,  as  its  successor  should 
be.  This  seems  due  to  its  color,  which  does  not  unduly 
absorb  the  heat  rays  in  the  sun  and  at  the  same  time  is  in- 


58  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

conspicuous;  to  its  expanse,  which  protects  the  face  and  the 
neck  from  the  weather;  to  its  flexibility,  which  adapts  it  to 
the  exigencies  of  the  forest,  the  jungle,  and  the  bivouac;  and 
above  all  to  its  relative  thickness,  which  serves  fairly  to  bar 
the  sun's  rays.* 

To  withstand  the  tropical  sun  a  dense  crown  is  desirable, 
which  implies  relatively  thick  material.  This  is  preferable 

Protection  to  a  ^^nt  an<^  tn*n  covermg>  ^  there  is  provision 
of  the  head  for  change  of  air  under  it.  The  delicate  straw 
against  hat  or  even  the  white  cotton  or  linen  cap,  although 
8un  more  acceptable  than  the  old  low-lying  cap  or 
kepi  with  its  single  dark  tissue  on  a  leather  crown,  permits 
the  solar  heat  to  beat  through.  Tropical  natives  usually 
wear  a  dense  hat  standing  away  from  the  head  or  carry  an 
umbrella,  either  of  which  interposes  a  barrier  to  the  heat-rays 
and  secures  a  circulation  of  air,  or  they  wear  a  voluminous 
white  turban  whose  color  reflects  the  heat  and  whose  entan- 
gled air  is  a  non-conductor. 

The  most  hygienic  of  all  tropical  head-coverings  is  the 
white,  thick,  cork  or  pith  helmet  or,  better,  mushroom-shaped 
Other  cover-  hat.  The  body  of  either  stands  about  an  inch 
ings  for  the  away  from  the  head  at  the  nearest  point,  clasping 
it  by  an  inner  band.  The  hat  is  broad  enough 
to  shield  the  face  and  the  nape  of  the  neck  and  it  is  thick 
enough  to  prevent  direct  penetration  by  the  sun's  heat-rays. 

*  Historical  Note.  The  prototype  of  the  campaign  hat  was  designed 
by  Col.  Timothy  P.  Andrews  (afterward  Paymaster  General)  for  his 
regiment  of  Voltigeurs  in  the  Mexican  War,  but  was  first  issued  to  the 
Second  Dragoons  in  Texas  in  the  early  'Fifties.  Officers  and  men  pro- 
nounced it  then  the  most  comfortable  and  serviceable  military  hat  they 
had  worn.  The  brim  was  very  broad,  and  one  side  was  arranged  to  locfp 
up  when  required.  Apparently  this  was  done  rarely,  if  at  all.  The 
issue  was  not  renewed,  because  the  regulations  did  not  recognize  the 
pattern.  In  the  later  'Sixties  an  attempt  was  made  to  revive  that  hat 
by  an  experimental  issue  made  from  oral  description,  but  the  drab  color 
of  the  model  was  arbitrarily  changed  to  black  and  the  material  used  was 
poor,  so  that  it  was  not  acceptable.  The  campaign  hat  has  been  gradu- 
ally evolved  from  the  Andrews,  or  Second  Dragoons,  hat,  the  Mexican 
sombrero,  and  the  soft  hat  of  the  civilian. 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  59 

But  this  conspicuous,  cumbrous,  incompressible  and  com- 
paratively costly,  however  comfortable,  hat  is  not  one  of 
issue.  The  white  or  drab  cork  helmet  protects  corkorpith 
comfortably  against  the  fierce  sun  but  is  unfit  helmet  or 
for  the  field.  It  is  officially  obsolete,  except  for  the  hat 
supply  on  hand  which  is  issued  to  sedentary  troops.  Properly 
made,  its  ventilation  is  excellent  and  its  protection  admirable. 
The  straw  imitation  helmet,  acceptable  and  heretofore  some- 
times permitted  in  the  hot  seasons  of  temperate  straw  hat 
climates,  is  too  thin  to  withstand  tropical  heat  and  helmet 
and  too  fragile  for  the  field  or  rough  service  anywhere.  That 
is  also  true  of  the  common  straw  hat  which  occasionally  has 
been  authorized  in  garrison  for  local  and  temporary  use. 
These  are  no  longer  authorized.  Special  forms  of  head-dress, 
usually  designed  from  motives  of  display  rather  than  of 
sanitation,  sometimes  used  by  state  troops,  are  rarely  com- 
mendable. 

Whenever  the  atmospheric  temperature  is  very  high  and 
whatever  the  head-covering,  the  local  heat  may  be  reduced 
by  the  evaporation  from  a  wet  fabric  contained    Cooling  by 
in  the  hat  crown.     This  simple  plan  materially    moisture 
assists  in  averting  heat-stroke  and  is  well  worth  execution 
on  a  trying  march. 

Besides  the  reasons  already  suggested  for  guarding  against 
the  solar  rays,  there  is  cause  to  apprehend  harm  from  an 
excess  of  the  invisible  chemical  or  actinic  waves  Actinic 
which  accompany '  those  of  light  and  heat;  for,  influence 
just  as  these  better  known  agents  are  themselves  hurtful 
when  too  intense,  it  is  probable  that  the  associated  rays, 
which  are  less  understood,  may  also  be  mischievous  where 
there  is  no  dark  shield.  Confessedly  the  physiological  action 
of  actinism  is  yet  obscure,  but  we  are  warranted  in  attempting 
to  mitigate  the  penalty  that  falls  upon  those  who  pass  beyond 
the  bounds  of  their  habitations,  which  are  set  for  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth.  The  actinic  rays  are  not  only,  like  those 
of  light,  absorbed  by  opacity  but  are  filtered  out  by  the 


60  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

orange  hue.  While  for  evident  reasons  it  would  be  inex- 
pedient openly  to  uniform  our  white  troops  in  orange  and 
Orange  and  black,  an  orange  or  a  black  layer  in  any  posi- 
actinic  rays  tion  will  cut  out  actinic  action  from  anything 
beneath  it.  Hence  to  line  the  head-covering  with  metal  or 
other  opaque  substance,  or  with  an  orange  sheeting,  should 
at  least  intercept  that  chemical  principle.  And  while  the 
chief  danger  to  be  apprehended  is  to  the  brain  and  spinal 
Orange  cord,  the  whole  of  the  clothed  person  may  well 
underwear  receive  this  protection  of  orange  underclothing, 
certainly  tentatively,  until  the  question  is  settled.  This 
refers  to  the  white  and  the  colored  man.  The  black  carries 
his  armor  with  him. 

Besides  the  uniform  hats  already  described,  an  ordinary 
sportsman's  canvas  hat,  with  peaks  fore  and  aft  and  folding 
Sportsman's  flaps  as  evolved  by  hunters,  should  fulfil  the 
hat  requirements  of  the  field.  Neutral  in  color,  it 

may  be  decorated  if  desired  for  display  in  peace,  but  the 
ornaments  should  be  detached  in  war.  In  warm  weather 
it  would  be  light  with  abundant  air-space  and  optional 
openings  in  the  crown;  but  for  cold  seasons  it  should  be 
warmly  lined  and  the  flaps  turned  down  when  desired. 
This  would  be  light  and  portable,  easily  folded  for  trans- 
portation, and  not  in  the  way  of  the  soldier's  weapons;  it 
would  give  protection  on  the  march  and  a  cover  in  bivouac; 
and  it  has  stood  the  test  of  much  rough  usage  with  a  repu- 
tation for  comfort  and  durability.  For  the  tropics  such  a 
hat  would  not  be  sufficiently  resistant  to  the  solar  rays,  but 
for  the  whole  range  of  the  temperate  zone  it  offers  inviting 
possibilities  for  the  field. 

The  closely  fitting  dress-coat,  the  modern  relic  of  armor 
in  its  function  of  mechanically  holding  the  soldier  upright, 

was  the  most  unhygienic  and  therefore  unmili- 
Dress-coat 

tary    article    of    military    costume.     Fortunately 

it  has  been  abandoned  together  with  its  long-discarded 
adjunct,  the  leather  stock,  and  nothing  should  ever  lead  to 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:   APPAREL  61 

the  revival  of  either.     Both  were  based  on  misconceptions. 
The  coat  compressed  the  chest  and  interfered  with  its  ex- 
pansion, restraining  the  soldier  from  the  vigorous    Leather 
exertion  to  which  his  training  is  directed  and  his    stock 
occupation  requires.     The  stock  was  a  continuation  of  the 
apparatus  for  rigidity.     As  with  powder,  pomatum,  and  pig- 
tails, the  product  was  picturesque  but  pernicious.    Dress-coats 
will  doubtless  be  retained  for  the  time  by  some  state  troops 
for  purposes  of  display  and  spectacular  attraction,    in  the 
but  inspecting  officers  should  always  observe  and    militia 
condemn  those  that  are  tight  and  should  discourage  their 
entrance  into  the  field.     When  such  regiments  may  be  mus- 
tered in  the  United  States  service,  that  part  of  its  uniform 
is  to  be  rejected. 

The  dark-blue  cloth  sack-coat  for  dress  should  always  fit 
loosely;  which  does  not  mean  that  it  should  be  ill-fitting  or 
ungraceful,  but  that  it  should  nowhere  bind  the  Blue  cloth 
wearer.  It  is  difficult  to  cut  such  a  coat  to  look  sack-coat 
well  without  the  direct  support  of  the  body,  and  the  tailors' 
constant  tendency  is  to  make  it  more  snug,  that  is  to  have 
it  fit  more  closely  for  the  display  of  the  figure,  in  which  the 
men  will  abet  them.  Company  officers  should  guard  against 
that  propensity  as  a  sacrifice  of  the  spirit  of  intelligent  dressing 
which  the  uniform  is  designed  to  maintain.  The  coat  itself 
is  worn  so  little  that  it  has  no  appreciable  direct  influence 
upon  health,  but  its  conspicuousness  on  occasions  of  ceremony 
sets  a  general  style  for  other  military  clothing.  Hence  the 
importance  of  not  setting  up  a  model  whose  tendency  may 
be  harmful.  The  dress-coat  should  not  be  worn  at  home  in 
the  southern  summer,  nor  be  taken  into  the  tropics. 

The  service  coat  of  woollen  or  cotton  according  to  climate, 
olive-drab  in  woollen,  khaki-colored  in  cotton,  should  be  at 
least  five  inches  in  excess  of  the  girth  of  the  chest 
at    forced    inspiration.     The    regulation    requires 
the  coat  to  be  "  at  least  five  inches  in  excess  of  the  chest 
measurement."     But  the  official  definition  of  chest  measure- 


62  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

ment  is  the  circumference  after  forced  expiration,  which 
would  give  a  play  of  only  two  inches  in  large  men,  who  require 
it  most.  As  this  is  the  working  coat,  especially  in  cold  weather, 
there  should  be  in  the  woollen  coat  a  sufficient  margin  about 
the  chest  for  adequate  underclothing  without  interference 
with  muscular  action.  The  service  coat  is  also  required  to 
fit  closely  at  the  waist,  a  rule  requiring  liberal  interpretation 
to  avoid  discomfort  with  heavy  underwear.  It  contains  two 
outside  pockets  above  and  two  below  the  waist  line  and  is 
the  best  for  its  purpose  that  the  army  has  ever  had.  Further, 
it  possesses  the  great  economic  advantage  of  being  identical 
for  all  arms.  The  hygienic  question  might  be  raised  whether 
the  skirts,  which  extend  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the 
point  of  the  hip  to  the  bend  of  the  knee  and  thus  are  well 
adapted  for  the  saddle,  may  not  be  unnecessarily  short  for  the 
infantry.  A  short  skirt  may  apear  "  smart  "  to  the  eye, 
but  if  it  falls  low  enough  fairly  to  clear  the  ground  when 
firing  kneeling  it  gives  better  protection  to  the  abdomen. 

The  objection  that  long  blocked  the  ways  to  reform,  was 
to  stigmatize  a  loosely  fitting  uniform  as  slouchy.  The  ab- 
Unconstraint  stract  condition  of  looseness  has  no  intrinsic 
in  uniform  influence  if  the  cut  is  good,  for  it  is  the  wearer, 
not  what  is  worn,  that  offends  the  eye.  It  is  "  setting  up," 
not  tight  clothing,  that  creates  the  martial  figure;  for  no  man 
held  in  position  by  his  clothes  is  either  soldierly  or  very  vigor- 
ous. War  in  its  practical  aspect  is  hunting,  an  exercise 
demanding  the  most  active  and  untrammelled  exertion,  and 
the  hunting-shirt  has  been  evolved  as  the  effective  and  typical 
garb  of  the  hunter.  The  nearer  the  soldier's  working  dress 
approaches  that  of  his  hunting  prototype,  the  better  it  is  for 
his  work.  Notwithstanding  the  coat  should  be  loose  and 
not  tight,  it  should  be  carefully  modelled  and  attractively 
made.  It  is  not  unmanly  to  feel  pride  in  dress,  especially 
when  it  is  the  badge  of  honorable  service;  but  it  is  difficult 
for  a  man  to  be  proud  of  his  uniform  when  it  is  uncomfortable 
or  ill-looking.  On  the  other  hand  a  neatly  dressed  is  apt 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:    APPAREL  63 

to  be  a  well-behaved  soldier.  It  contributes  to  the  esprit 
of  any  organization  for  its  head  to  recognize  and  commend 
features  which  less  intelligent  or  less  interested  Attention  to 
men  neglect.  No  captain  should  allow  one  of  his  appearance 
men  to  accept  uniform  from  the  company  tailor  until  its 
fit  has  been  passed  upon  by  his  First  Sergeant  and  then  ap- 
proved by  himself,  a  practice  in  some  if  not  all  of  the  better 
armies.  Particularly  should  minor  alterations  in  violation  of 
the  regulations  at  the  whim  of  the  enlisted  men  be  promptly 
disallowed.  This  attention  to  clothing  is  of  secondary  but 
real  importance  for  officers  of  the  organized  militia  also.  The 
value  of  these  injunctions  lies  first  in  the  importance  of  securing 
roomy  clothes  that  will  accommodate  themselves  to  vigorous 
activity,  and  secondly  in  the  stimulation  of  confidence  in  one's 
self  and  his  comrades  by  the  gratification  of  legitimate  self- 
esteem. 

Tight  shirt-collars  and  tight  neckbands,  as  well  as  tight 
standing  collars  of  military  coats,  disturb  the  blood  supply 
of  the  head,   affect  the  vision,   and   may  have   Collars  and 
serious  consequences.     They  should  not  be  worn  neckbands 
and  the  neck  should  be  kept  free  from  the  least  compression. 

A  cotton  undershirt  and  a  winter  one  of  woollen  are  the 
regular  issue.  The  winter  shirt  contains  sixty  per  cent,  wool 
and  forty  per  cent,  cotton,  and  when  thirty-eight 
inches  breast-measure  weighs  fifteen  ounces,  the 
other  sizes  weighing  in  proportion.  This  replaces  a  heavy 
and  a  light  winter  grade.  For  reasons  already  explained, 
it  seems  impracticable  to  preserve  the  health  of  men  on  active 
service  if  wool  (merino)  is  not  worn  next  the  skin  of  the  chest 
and  the  abdomen  one  day  with  another  the  year  through, 
and  the  men  should  be  encouraged,  by  preference  required, 
to  follow  that  habit.  A  knit  woollen  undershirt,  at  one  time 
issued,  was  sometimes  so  rough  as  to  be  unbearable  to  delicate 
skins.  That  is  wholly  unnecessary,  and  the  condition  when 
occurring  should  be  made  the  subject  of  official  complaint 
by  the  company  commander,  with  the  view  of  securing  a 


64  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

more  tolerable  grade.  Any  undershirt  when  issued  should 
reach  half  way  down  the  thigh,  for  there  will  inevitably  be 
some  shrinkage  and  whatever  is  worn  should  more  than  cover 
the  abdomen.  Details  like  this  must  be  constantly  remem- 
bered, for  in  contract  work  there  is  frequent  temptation  to 
skimp  if  not  to  scamp  the  product.  The  material  should  be 
one-third  cotton  for  ordinary  issue  and  in  three  grades.  In 
Alaska  a  fleece-lined  undershirt  is  now  furnished,  and  in  other 
cold  regions  the  soldier  should  be  allowed  to  draw  two  sizes 
and  in  winter  to  wear  one  over  the  other  when  necessary. 
In  hot  climates  the  texture  may  be  two-thirds  cotton,  but  it 
is  not  safe  to  omit  entirely  the  use  of  wool. 

The  olive-drab  flannel  shirt,  issued  as  a  substitute  for  the 
blue  flannel  shirt,  is  probably  the  most  useful  article  of  the 
Flannel  uniform.  This  has  a  rolling  collar  and  breast 
shirt  pockets,  is  reasonably  full  and  resembles  the 

hunting-shirt  excepting  that  it  is  worn  within  the  trousers. 
It  is  extremely  comfortable  and  on  fatigue  may  be  worn 
without  the  coat.  It  is  sometimes  thus  worn  by  authority 
at  drill  and  even  on  short  details  of  active  duty,  in  both  which 
cases  the  waist-belt  should  replace  suspenders.  Visible  sus- 
penders suggest  negligence,  as  though  the  coat  were  carelessly 
discarded,  so  that  besides  the  offence  to  the  eye  there  might 
be  an  example  unbecoming  military  order  and  neatness. 
.Removal  of  Under  extreme  heat,  when  the  overshirt  is  worn 
undershirt  the  closer-fitting  undershirt  may  be  temporarily 
dispensed  with  during  the  day  by  special  authority,  but  not 
at  night.  A  serious  disadvantage  is  the  offensive  absorption 
by  the  olive-drab  shirt  of  the  perspiration  that  otherwise  would 
Grades  and  be  taken  up  by  the  undershirt.  The  olive-drab 
sizes  shirt  may  properly  be  made  in  two  grades,  the 

heavier  for  issue  in  very  cold  climates,  and  in  numerous  sizes 
Multiple  when  some  of  the  smaller  should  be  without  col- 
shirts  lars,  that  two  may  be  worn  at  once.  For  animal 
heat  is  best  conserved  by  layers  of  air,  which  are  poor  conduc- 
tors of  heat,  held  between  several  superimposed  similar  gar- 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  65 

ments.     Ice-cutters  and  lumbermen  follow  this  method  and 
discard  overcoats,  whose  chief  utility  is  during  storms  or  against 
dry  cold  when  not  much  independent  motion  by  the  limbs  is 
required.     As  animal  heat  is  not  influenced  by  color,  but  as 
dark   colors   absorb    animal  odors  more  freely   than  other 
shades,  the  clothing  next  to  the  skin  should  be  light    color  of 
in  color.    In  the  field  there  should  always  be  carried    underwear 
an  extra  shirt  to  be  worn  next  the  body,  the  two  shirts  to  be 
worn  alternately.     At  the  close  of  the  day's  work    Duplicate 
the  shirt  in  use  should  be  taken  off,  stretched,    shirts 
dried,  well  beaten  (preferably  with  a  bunch  of  twigs),  and 
hung  for  a  time  in  the  wind  and  sun.     This  should  be  done 
even  when  there  is  no  change  to  be  made.     As  the  combina- 
tion of  perspiration  and  dust  is  disagreeable  and  sometimes 
is  hurtful,  drawers,  stockings  and  breeches  should  be  treated 
in  the  same  way;  and  in  both  garrison  and  camp  the  persons 
as  well  as  the  underclothing  of  the  men  should  be  carefully 
inspected  for  cleanliness.     Because  the  drill  regulations  fail 
to  demand  it,  this  is  frequently  neglected.     But    inspection 
it  is  important  and  properly  should  be  a  formal    for  clean- 
part  of  company  inspection  in  barracks,  to  include    liness 
the  feet,  the  stockings,  the  shirt  and  the  breast.     A  convenient 
order  is:  Remove  both  shoes  and  one  stocking;  open  coat  and 
shirt!     Non-commissioned  officers  are  excepted!     In  that  way 
those  parts  of  the  person  and  of  the  underclothing   most 
exposed  to  external  dust  and  stain  are  observed.     If  necessary 
this  intimate  inspection  may  be  pursued  further  by  the  in- 
specting officer  or  a  representative.     Like  most  inspections, 
this  is  a  preventive  measure  rather  than  one  of  discovery; 
for  few  men  will  risk  the  exposure  of  a  dirty  foot  or  an  offensive 
shirt  the  second  time.     Dirty  troops  are  sickly,  and  men  who 
display  clean  shirts  in  their  packs  may  wear  foul  clothes  and 
themselves  be  unclean. 

Trousers  for  the  enlisted  men  require  little  hygienic  con- 
sideration as  part  of  the  uniform,  for  their  employment 
involves  practically  no  physiological  strain  or  discomfort. 


66  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

They  are  of  light  blue  cloth  in  two  grades,  twenty-two 
and  sixteen  ounces  respectively,  worn  only  on  dress  occa- 
'"ronsers  si°nsJ  °f  khaki,  for  garrison  wear  not  under  arms; 
of  brown  cotton  duck  (canvas)  for  fatigue;  of 
bleached  cotton  duck  for  the  Hospital  Corps  on  ward  duty. 
There  are  no  service  (olive-drab  woollen)  trousers. 

For  all  other  purposes  trousers  have  been  replaced  by 
breeches,  which  have  not  been  in  use  long  enough  for  their 

value    to    be    thoroughly    tested.     It    is    worth 
Breeches 

remembering  that  when  trousers  were  substituted 

for  breeches  in  the  British  army,  about  a  hundred  years  ago, 
"  the  increased  comfort  to  the  soldier  was  said  to  be  remark- 
able" (Parkes).  Those  earlier  breeches,  also  known  as 
small-clothes,  in  vogue  until  late  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
encased  the  thighs  nearly  to,  or  just  below,  the  knees,  where 
they  were  met  by  long  stockings.  But  the  military  breeches 
of  to-day  are  loose  at  the  knee,  fit  closely  about  the  leg, 
and  are  tied  just  above  the  shoe.  They  are  substantially 
what  have  long  been  known  as  riding-breeches,  perhaps  some- 
what prolonged,  and  they  are  not  regarded  by  all  who  wear 
them  to  be  as  comfortable  as  trousers  for  continuous  dis- 
mounted use  in  garrison.  Breeches  are  required  for  all 
occasions  except  those  of  ceremony  and  of  garrison  duty  not 
under  arms  (simple  duty),  and  sometimes  by  election  they 
are  worn  on  it.  Military  trousers  and  breeches  should  fit 
Fit  of  snugly  around  the  waist,  but  with  strap  and 

breeches  buckle  to  regulate  the  girth.  Breeches  for  the 
mounted  service  should  be  reenforced  in  the  seat  with  the 
saddle-piece  neatly  sewn  without  rough  seams,  which  are 
liable  to  chafe.  They  should  be  fairly  close  over  the  upper 
pelvis,  but  over  the  hips  and  in  the  seat  there  must  be  abun- 
dant room.  Restraint,  the  common  evil,  should  be  minimized; 
for  any  clothing  that  fits  closely  handicaps  the  wearer  in 
serious  exertion.  It  is  much  better  that  breeches  should  be 
too  large  at  the  expense  of  appearance,  than  not  large  enough 
to  avoid  restraint.  A  broad  inner  belt  for  secondary  support 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  67 

is  helpful  and  comfortable.     Pockets  should  be  ample,  with 
openings  across  the  top  below  the  belt  line  and  not  in  the 
sides.     Trousers  for  dress  look   better  with   no    Pocketg 
pockets  at  all,   except  a  small  one  at  the   hip. 
There  will  be  a  temptation  for  the  contractor  to  make  the  legs 
of  the  breeches  too  scanty,  and  thus  constrain  the  swelling 
muscles,  and  too  short  near  the  ankles;  and  the    Caution 
men  may  incline  to  tie  the  extremities  too  tightly 
and  thus  interfere  with  action  and  also  with  the  circulation. 
These  possibilities  the   company   commanders   should   con- 
stantly remember  and  frequently  inspect  for. 

The  controlling  reason  for  the  change  to  this  style  of  dress 
probably  was  the  extreme  discomfort  that  followed  marching 
in  the  mud,  or  in  dust  and  water,  when  wearing  Reasons  for 
trousers,  and  the  inconvenience  in  neatly  stowing  breeches 
trousers'  legs  when  in  the  saddle.  When  on  foot  the  extremities 
of  the  long  trousers'  legs  became  clogged,  dirty,  and  wet,  and 
were  an  habitual  trial  and  a  frequent  evil.  This  was  aggra- 
vated by  the  garrison  habit,  unwisely  overlooked,  of  altering 
the  legs  into  "  spring  bottoms  "  for  the  sake  of  appearance. 
On  the  march,  to  avoid  its  being  draggled  in  mud  and  water, 
the  men  would  fold  the  lowest  six  inches  about  the  ankle, 
bind  it  with  twine  and  draw  over  it  the  coarse  stocking-leg, 
which  also  sometimes  was  tied  fast.  The  effect  was  to  collect 
the  mud,  that  otherwise  would  cling  to  the  trousers,  directly 
upon  the  stockings  which  might  more  easily  be  cleansed  or 
changed.  Where  breeches  are  not  furnished  to  state  troops, 
it  would  be  better  for  their  trousers  to  be  narrow  at  the  bottom 
to  stow  within  gaiters  or  leggings.  Leggings,  of  canvas  or 

cotton  duck  or  of  leather,  are  required  for  all  duty    . 

.          J     Leggings 
except  ordinary  garrison  service  and  occasions  of 

ceremony.  That  is,  leggings  are  complementary  to  breeches 
and  the  two  must  be  worn  together.  Canvas  is  worn  when 
dismounted,  leather  when  mounted.  They  reach  nearly  to 
the  knee  and  should  set  well  over  the  instep,  and  when  properly 
fitted  are  comfortable.  Their  essential  object  is  to  protect 


68  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  nether  clothing  against  sand  and  dust  and  mud,  so  that 
the  soldier's  legs  may  be  comparatively  dry  and  clean.  When 
not  well-fitting  leggings  are  not  comfortable,  and  comfort 
is  a  factor  in  efficiency.  The  diversity  of  legs  to  be  accommo- 
dated makes  the  selection,  not  the  mere  supply,  of  a  pair 
important.  Their  manufacture  by  wholesale  diminishes  the 
chance  of  efficient  variety.  If  the  leggings  are  too  loose  they 
are  liable  to  slip  down,  or  to  open  and  leave  a  space  for 
sand  and  gravel  to  work  in;  if  too  tight,  they  may  cause  the 
feet  and  ankles  to  swell  through  the  obstruction  of  the  circu- 
lation. At  any  time  a  buckle  or  strap  may  break  or  be  lost,  so 
that  the  integrity  of  the  legging  really  depends  upon  the  con- 
stant exercise  of  extreme  care  and  frequently  upon  very 
chance.  The  material  should  be  carefully  selected,  for  light 
canvas  will  wrinkle  and  light  leather  becomes  too  harsh  after 
wetting.  The  straps  would  better  be  riveted  than  sewn. 
The  practical  objection  to  leggings,  which  should  be  well 
weighed,  is  that  they  are  additional  and  somewhat  compli- 
cated articles.  The  most  serviceable  clothing  is  the  simplest, 
and  it  is  always  open  for  discussion  whether  two  distinct 
pieces,  in  this  case  three,  in  place  of  one,  however  useful  they 
may  be  after  application,  may  not  involve  too  much  care  and 
too  much  risk  for  their  maintenance  in  the  field,  the  ultimate 
scene  of  all  military  efficiency.  When  breeches  are  constantly 
worn  it  is  found  that  the  leggings  often  make  the  legs  sore, 
particularly  in  hot  weather. 

Puttees,  which  are  not  a  part  of  the  uniform,  have  stood 

the  test  of  extensive  use  by  all  branches  of  the  British  army, 

especially  in  Asia,  and  are  accepted  by  them  as 

very  satisfactory  substitutes  for  leggings.     They 

are  long  woven  flannel  or  worsted  bandages  which  encircle  and 

support  the  leg  from  the  ankle  to  the  knee  and  protect  the 

breeches.     They  require  neither  strap  nor  buckle  and  are  easily 

applied  after  the  knack  has  been  acquired,  and  they  adapt 

themselves  perfectly.     They  are  less  bulky,  more  portable, 

more  easily  cleansed,  and  appear  to  be  more  serviceable  than 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  69 

the  official  leggings.  Some  officers  in  the  Philippines  prefer 
the  flannel  puttee  as,  better  than  leggings,  excluding  insects 
and  leeches  which  infest  parts  of  those  islands.  The  leather 
imitation  puttee  is  such  in  appearance  rather  than  in  reality. 

Trousers  and  breeches  are  held  in  place  by  a  belt  of  webbing 
or  by  suspenders.  Either  is  optional,  but  with  a  normally 
slender  figure  a  firm  belt  is  the  better,  and  is  much  Belts  and 
more  easily  managed.  The  objections  to  suspend-  suspenders 
ers  are  their  appreciable  pressure  on  the  chest  walls,  their 
unremitting  draught  upon  the  shoulders,  and  the  embarrass- 
ment to  the  wearer  when,  as  sometimes  will  occur,  they  break, 
are  misplaced,  or  the  buttons  on  the  waistband  disappear.  It  is 
forbidden  for  the  suspenders  to  be  visible.  The  pressure  upon 
the  abdomen,  sometimes  used  as  objection  against  the  belt, 
is  insignificant  as  compared  with  that  of  the  military  waist- 
belt,  a  required  part  of  the  accoutrements.  The  belt  should 
fit  just  above  the  hip-bones. 

Drawers,  of  jean  in  summer  and  Canton  flannel  in  winter, 
are  primarily  for  cleanliness  and  secondarily  for  warmth,  and 
are  issued  to  all  arms  and  not,  as  in  some  services, 
only  to  the  mounted  men.  When  they  are  too 
heavy  and  inspection  is  not  rigid,  the  soldier  is  tempted  to 
discard  them  in  hot  weather  to  his  ultimate  discomfort  and  the 
occasional  risk  of  his  health.  The  Canton  flannel  drawers 
should  be  of  several  grades  and  many  sizes,  so  that  during 
severe  cold  two  pairs  may  be  worn  together  if  desirable.  In 
Alaska  fleece-lined  drawers  are  supplied.  It  is  important  that 
all  drawers  should  be  large  in  the  seat  and  full  over  the  thigh, 
places  in  which  contractors  are  disposed  to  "save"  material. 
Besides  their  interference  with  motion  and  their  liability  to 
be  torn,  those  that  are  too  small  about  the  pelvis  are  sure  to 
chafe. 

Both  woollen  and  cotton  stockings  are  issued.    Some  persons 
perspire  so  freely  that  woollen  stockings,  even  in  win- 
ter,  become  saturated  with  more  perspiration  than 
they  can  absorb,  and  as  a  consequence  the  retained  moisture 


70  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

chills  the  feet  when  at  rest.  The  men  generally  know  which 
is  the  more  comfortable  for  themselves,  and  they  should  be 
allowed  to  wear  woollen  or  cotton  at  their  discretion  regardless 
of  the  season.  It  is  more  important  that  the  stockings  should 
fit  well,  for  if  too  large  the  folds  and  creases  may  blister  the  feet; 
if  too  small  thetoes  may  be  bent  or  the  stocking-leg  be  drawn 
under  the  heel,  causing  chafes.  In  emergencies  a  carefully 
folded  piece  of  muslin  may  replace  a  stocking.  Wet  feet 
may  be  uncomfortable,  but  they  rarely  are  harmful  to  a  man 
in  good  health  who  is  taking  active  exercise,  as  shown  in 
the  frequent  experience  of  gunners,  fishermen,  and 
many  laborers.  It  is  when  he  is  inactive  or  allows 
himself  to  be  chilled,  that  he  takes  cold.  A  wet  skin  or  wet  feet 
are  more  dangerous  to  health  than  dry  cold,  whenever  the 
external  temperature  reduces  that  of  the  body  beyond  physio- 
logical restoration  of  the  equilibrium.  The  severest  frost-bite 
is  when  snow  drives  within  the  shoes  or  other  clothing  and  melts 
there,  or  a  soaking  storm  penetrates,  and  the  man  remains 
quiescent  or  asleep  or,  sometimes  indeed,  attempts  to  pursue 
his  way  with  greatly  lowered  temperature.  An  experienced 
man  who  has  broken  through  the  ice  in  the  bitter  weather  of 
the  Northwest  will  not  proceed  until  he  has  dried  himself  and 
his  clothes,  by  the  help  if  possible  of  some  sort  of  fire,  but 
stripping  if  necessary  to  get  dry  regardless  of  the  temperature. 
Campaigns  are  won  by  marching,  and  soldiers  cannot  march 
with  crippled  feet.  Even  in  the  cavalry  much  duty  is  per- 
formed on  foot,  and  the  character  of  the  shoe  is 
potent  in  maintaining  or  in  impairing  the  sound- 
ness of  the  feet  themselves.  No  official  pattern  has  yet  stood 
the  test  of  time  as  faultless,  so  there  is  constant  endeavor  to 
create  a  perfect  shoe.*  Therefore,  without  describing  what  may 

*  The  Superintendent  of  the  Military  Academy,  in  his  Report  for 
1908,  announces  the  issue  to  the  cadets  of  a  new  shoe,  made  on  a  scien- 
tific model,  which  was  highly  satisfactory  on  a  practice  march  and  in 
daily  use.  This  is  well  worth  more  extended  trial  in  the  hope  that  the 
problem  has  been  solved.  The  contractors  are  the  Stetson  Shoe  Com- 
pany, South  Weymouth,  Mass. 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:   APPAREL  71 

actually  be  in  use  at  any  particular  time,  a  type  showing  the 
features  a  military  shoe  should  possess  is  presented  for  com- 
parison with  the  passing  achievement.  However  imperfect  it 
may  be,  the  use  of  the  established  regulation  shoe  should  be 
vigorously  enforced.  If,  as  occasionally  happens,  a  man  can- 
not wear  it  but  can  wear  one  of  a  civil  pattern,  he  should  be 
promptly  discharged.  Such  a  man  would  be  barefoot  in  cam- 
paign, for  he  cannot  be  supplied  in  the  field  from  his  special 
last,  and  whoever  cannot  take  the  field  is  a  cumberer  of  the  mili- 
tary ground.  Where  there  is  the  regular  range  of  sizes  to  draw 
from,  such  unconformable  feet  are  to  be  regarded  as  malformed. 
There  is  no  more  vicious  dictum  than  that  (now  happily  over- 
ruled) promulgated  some  years  ago  by  a  very  distinguished 
general,  that  the  men  should  be  allowed  to  buy  their  own  shoes, 
for  it  was  of  no  consequence  what  kind  soldiers  importance 
wore.  Clearly  he  was  thinking  merely  of  their  of  shoes 
appearance.  A  command  cannot  sooner  be  crippled  than  by 
marching  in  the  ordinary  civilian  foot-gear  of  either  town  or 
country.  It  is  more  important  that  every  regiment  of  or- 
ganized militia  should  have  fitted  regulation  shoes,  than  that 
they  should  have  regulation  coats  or  breeches.  It  should  be 
a  requirement  for  every  National  Guardsman  to  keep  at  his 
armory  a  pair  of  well-fitted  regulation  or  other  tested  shoes,  to 
be  supplied  at  the  cost  of  the  state  and  to  be  worn  only  when 
on  duty  and  always  when  on  duty.  The  want  of  such  shoes 
has  neutralized  many  a  laudable  attempt  at  prolonged  march- 
ing. There  should  be  a  standard  shoe,  preferably  in  rights 
and  lefts,  to  which  the  men  should  be  confined.  If  not  rights 
and  lefts,  they  should  be  worn  alternately  on  succeeding  days. 
These  should  be  in  numerous  sizes,  and  recruits  should  be  care- 
fully supervised  in  selecting  them,  for  few  recruits  are  com- 
petent to  judge  of  the  suitability  of  a  shoe  for  the  work  before 
them,  and  they  may  easily  damage  their  feet.  A  Features  of 
good  marching  shoe  should  have  a  thick,  wide  sole,  shoes 
to  project  beyond  the  upper  leather:  this  is  to  protect  the  foot 
itself  from  the  inequalities  of  the  ground,  to  take  up  the  impact 


72  MILllAm    HYGIENE 

of  the  step  better  than  could  a  yielding  sole,  and  to  preserve 
the  side  of  the  foot  from  being  bruised  as  it  might  be  were  the 
sole  too  narrow.  Obviously  a  thick  sole  will  wear  longer  than 
a  thin  one,  other  conditions  being  equal,  and  thus  it  is  eco- 
nomical; but  it  is  only  truly  economical  when  its  weight  does 
not  limit  progression.  The  shoe  should  have  a  low,  broad  heel: 
this  to  afford  a  stable  support  for  the  spine,  whereas  a  high, 
narrow  heel  is  insecure;  to  prevent  stress  and  possible  strain 
of  the  instep;  and  particularly  to  avoid  throwing  the  weight 
forward  upon  the  base  of  the  toes,  tending  to  bend  them. 
The  shoe  should  be  long  enough  to  allow  the  toes  to  stretch 
freely  forward  when  the  foot  is  extended  by  the  weight  of  the 
body,  and  wide  enough,  particularly  at  the  ball,  for  them  to 
escape  lateral  pressure  under  any  circumstances.  If  the  toes 
are  cramped,  the  immediate  consequence  is  irritation  of  the 
joints  of  the  outer  toes,  which  generally  leads  to  a  bunion  or 
corns;  it  sometimes  induces  overriding,  and  occasionally  it 
causes  positive  dislocation  of  the  great  toe  at  its  base.  When 
sewed,  the  thread  should  be  heavy  and  well  waxed  and  the 
stitches  numerous.  The  parting  of  the  stitches  often  renders 
the  shoe  unserviceable  before  the  leather  itself  wears  out. 
But  only  brass-screwed  or  hobnailed  shoes  will  withstand 
marching  in  climate  and  soil  like  those  of  Arizona,  that  is  in 
arid  regions  rough  with  rock  or  covered  with  sand  or  gravel. 
Experienced  soldiers  will  themselves  set  their  marching  shoes 
with  hobnails,  a  technical  irregularity  always  to  be  condoned. 
The  best  heels  have  a  narrow  iron  rim,  and  the  experimental 
adoption  of  rubber  heels  and  sole-tips,  to  facilitate  marching 
and  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  shoes,  might  well  be  worth  while. 
Selection  of  No  soldier,  certainly  no  recruit,  should  be  permitted 
shoes  to  accept  a  shoe  until  he  tests  it  by  walking  over 

the  store-room  floor.  The  human  foot  in  walking  may  expand 
one-tenth  of  its  length  and  one-ninth,  perhaps  one-eighth,  of  its 
breadth;  hence  it  is  entirely  insufficient  to  trust  to  the  appar- 
ent fit  while  sitting  down,  nor  may  the  marked  sizes  invariably 
be  accepted.  It  is  probable  that,  like  other  muscles,  those  of 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  73 

the  foot  grow  with  exercise.  A  common  fault  in  the  shoe  is 
an  excess  of  leather  in  front  of,  and  a  deficiency  over,  the 
instep,  where  there  should  be  abundant  but  not  superfluous 
width.  Nowhere  should  there  be  extra  leather  to  be  drawn 
into  folds,  and  no  rough  seams.  Tightness  at  the  instep 
promptly  creates  lameness,  and  folds  and  seams  will  chafe  and 
blister.  When  there  is  too  much  play  for  the  foot  the  heel  will 
blister,  as  it  surely  will  also  if  chafed  by  a  rough  seam  or  a 
fold  in  the  stocking.  An  efficient  military  shoe  should  possess 
the  qualities  already  described  and  be  high  enough  to  embrace 
the  ankle.  If  it  has  a  slit  and  a  tongue  in  front  like  a  hunting- 
shoe,  so  much  the  better.  Good  shoes  will  last  about  two 
months  in  constant  marching  over  reasonably  rough 
roads,  and  much  longer  under  more  favorable 
conditions,  and  their  life  may  be  materially  prolonged  by 
minor  repairs  made  in  season.  To  that  end  the  men  should 
be  formally  instructed  in  such  precautionary  mending;  or,  if 
this  is  beyond  their  skill,  they  should  be  required  to  employ 
the  company  shoemaker.  The  company  shoe- 
maker's  tools  should  be  carried  in  the  company 
baggage  and  he  be  supplied  by  the  quartermaster  with  neces- 
sary materials  at  cost.  His  charges,  fixed  by  the  company 
council,  should  be  a  lien  on  the  men's  pay,  and  it  would  be  good 
administration  to  excuse  this  important  artisan  from  all  mili- 
tary duty  in  the  field  except  in  line  of  battle.  By  mending 
shoes  well  the  shoemaker  may  keep  in  the  ranks  far  more 
efficient  soldiers.  There  should  be  stated  inspections  of  shoes 
by  a  denominated  sergeant,  and  the  delinquents  reported  to 
the  company  commander. 

Shoes  should  be  altered  in  garrison,  never  in  the  field,  only 
by  special  permission  after  inspection  before  and  subsequently. 
The  desire  of  the  younger  soldiers  to  improve  the  looks  of 
the  shoe,  often  at  the  expense  of  its  utility,  must  always  be 
in  the  officer's  mind.  The  campaign  shoe  weighs  2|  pounds 
a  pair,  which  is  materially  less  than  in  some  foreign  armies; 
but  it  taxes  the  infantry  heavily  to  bear  an  extra  pair  in  the 


74  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

field.     If  the  shoemaker  can  be  depended  upon,  it  would 
be  much  better  for  each  man  to  carry  an  extra  pair  of  soles; 
and  so  important  is  fcthis  service,  that  in  active 
campaign  two  competent  shoemakers  may  well  be 
allowed  every  full  company.     The  barrack  shoe,  or  one  like 
it,  water-proofed,  might  be  taken  into  camp,  and  men  may 
well  be  taught  to  cobble,  to  apply  glued  patches  and  to  keep 
their  marching  shoes  well  oiled  and  water-proofed.*     Boots, 
formerly  worn  by  the  cavalry,  have  been  discontinued  for 
all  enlisted  men.     In  the  tropics  a  light  sandal  for  camp 
and   garrison  would  be  desirable;  for  the  more 
nearly  the  foot  is  bare,  the  cooler  and  more  fre- 
quently washed  it  will  be.     The  chief  practical  objection  to 
the  sandal  in  marching  is  the  liability  to  laceration  in  the  jungle 
and  the  risk  of  venomous  bites.     The  Spanish  troops  in  Luzon 
appeared  to  use  a  light,  open,  sandal-like  shoe  with  comfort. 

Good  marching  is  the  complement  and  sometimes  the 
equivalent  of  good  fighting,  but  unceasing  and  intelligent 
Care  of  the  vigilance  by  the  company  officer  is  necessary  to 
feet  secure  it.  The  first  requisite  is  sound  and  well- 

kept  feet,  so  that,  particularly  for  new  troops,  close  observa- 
tion and  personal  attention  to  their  care  are  required.  The 
officers  in  attendance  at  the  Mounted  Service  School  are 
obliged  not  only  to  understand  the  anatomy  and  the  care  of 
the  horses'  foot  but  actually  to  learn  to  make  and  set  their 
shoes  and  to  trim  their  hoofs.  An  officer  of  infantry  should 
not  be  less  watchful  of  his  men's  feet  than  a  cavalry  officer 
is  of  his  horses',  and  by  frequent  regular  inspection  he  should 
make  sure  that  the  nails  are  properly  trimmed  directly  across 
the  toe,  that  corns  and  chafes  are  not  developing  and  that 
the  entire  extremity  is  clean.  Uncleanliness  is  disorder. 
Those  to  whom  foreign  example  is  a  comfort,  may  console 

*  Parkes  recommends  half  a  pound  of  shoemaker's  dubbing,  half  a 
pint  linseed  oil,  half  a  pint  solution  of  india-rubber.  Dissolve  with 
gentle  heat  (it  is  very  inflammable)  and  rub  into  the  shoes.  If  renewed 
once  in  three  months,  the  shoes  of  a  battalion  may  be  kept  impermeable 
at  small  expense. 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:    APPAREL  75 

themselves  that  the  Prussian  lieutenants  of  infantry  are 
censured  when  their  men  are  foot-sore.  Anticipation  of  such 
inspection  accomplishes  much  of  its  purpose,  and  it  should 
be  considered  no  more  inappropriate  to  inspect  the  feet  than 
to  observe  the  hair  with  a  view  to  its  trimming,  or  to  look 
through  a  rifle  barrel  for  the  detection  of  grime.  When  the 
feet  are  not  hardened  or  are  not  accustomed  to  marching, 
they  should  be  greased.  A  stiff  lather  of  soap  inside  the 
stocking  before  setting  out  answers  the  same  purpose,  but  the 
common  yellow  soap  of  the  barrack  is  unfit  when  the  skin  is 
delicate  or  already  broken.  When  practicable,  to  soak  the 
feet  in  a  strong  tepid  solution  of  alum  assists  in  toughening  the 
skin,  but  this  is  not  available  on  a  large  scale.  Less  reliance 
should  be  placed  on  preventives  than  on  practice.  Attention 
to  the  foot  and  to  the  shoe  should  be  habitual,  and  inexperi- 
enced men  should  be  taught  to  march  as  they  would  learn 
any  other  exercise,  by  degrees.  At  the  end  of  the  march  the 
feet  should  be  washed  gently,  or  be  wiped  very  clean  and  dry. 
They  should  not  be  soaked  in  water,  and  usually  wiping  care- 
fully with  a  wet  cloth  is  not  only  sufficient  but  is  better  than 
washing  them.  When  the  skin  is  chafed,  a  blister  some- 
times may  be  averted  by  an  exchange  of  stockings  from  one 
foot  to  the  other,  slightly  altering  the  pressure,  chafes  and 
or  through  manipulation  of  the  shoe.  But  usually  blisters 
it  then  is  too  late.  A  blister  should  be  drained  through  a 
minute  opening  made  by  a  needle  at  the  lowest  point  under 
the  outer  skin.  Or  a  worsted  thread,  which  will  absorb 
much  of  the  fluid,  may  be  introduced  through  the  sound  skin 
and  withdrawn  before  exercise.  In  neither  case  should  the 
skin  of  the  blister  be  torn.  Any  more  elaborate  prevention 
or  further  treatment  requires  skilled  attention.  For  positively 
sore  feet  men  should  promptly  report  sick,  which  will  shorten 
the  disability  and  relieve  the  misery.  Men  disqualified  from 
marching  by  their  own  neglect  after  instruction,  should  be 
disciplined.  This  powder,  adopted  from  the  Germans,  is 
sufficiently  useful  in  preventing  sore  feet  to  be  kept  as 


76  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

company  property  and  distributed  by  the  sergeants.  Of 
each  by  weight,  take:  Salicylic  acid  three  parts;  starch  ten 
Foot  d  Par^s5  pulverized  soapstone  (talc)  eighty-seven 
parts.  It  is  to  be  sifted  in  the  shoes  and  stock- 
ings, but  particularly  in  the  stockings,  to  keep  the  feet  dry, 
to  prevent  charing,  and  to  heal  sore  spots.  It  may  be  used 
more  economically  as  an  ointment. 

The  soldier's  overcoat,  like  that  for  officers,  is  of  olive-drab 
woollen,  double-breasted,  lined,  extending  eight  or  ten  inches 

below  the  knees,  with  a  detachable  hood  for  in- 
Overcoat 

clement  weather.     The  comfort  of  the  overcoat 

in  very  cold  climates  may  be  increased  by  further  lining  it 
with  blanket,  although  this  is  not  specifically  authorized  by 
regulation.  In  extremely  cold  regions  soldiers  may  have 
issued  to  them  blanket-lined  canvas  overcoats  for  guard  duty 
or  field  service,  but  only  when  the  post  commander  certifies 
that  exposure  to  the  weather  would  jeopardize  life  or  limb 

by  freezing.     The  slicker,   a  light,  oiled-canvas, 

water-proof  overcoat,  is  authorized  for  enlisted 
men  when  on  duty  involving  exposure  to  rainy  or  other 
inclement  weather. 

The  blanket,  from  which  the  soldier  should  never  be  de- 
tached, is  five  and  a  half  by  seven  feet  in  size  and  is  issued 

in  two  weights.     The  heavy  weight  is  five  pounds. 

It  often  seems  a  burden  when  borne  upon  the 
person,  and  new  troops  foolishly  discard  it  on  the  march  on 
small  pretext,  to  their  subsequent  discomfort,  often  to  their 
harm.  The  proportion  of  blankets  to  men  at  the  end  of  a 
day's  march  is  a  good  measure  of  vigor  and  discipline.  Very 
careful  inspection  is  required  to  maintain  the  quality  of  the 
blanket  in  war  contracts. 

Suits  of  brown  canvas,  the  coat  loose  fitting,  to  be  worn 
alone  or  over  the  uniform  on  stable  or  fatigue  duty  or  with 
Fatigue  fixed  guns  and  emplacements,  and  leather  gloves, 
suits  have  protective  rather  than  sanitary  value.  This 

is  also  true  for  the  men's  uniform  gauntlets  and  white  gloves. 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  77 

Certain  clothing  has  been  specially  provided  for  service  in 
Alaska,  and  its  issue  as  well  as  that  in  recent  years  of  articles 
of  extra  warmth,  as  hoods,  gloves,  overshoes,  and  overcoats, 
especially  prepared  for  protection  against  very  severe  weather 
elsewhere,  has  been  fully  justified.  Formerly  fifteen  per 
cent  of  certain  exposed  garrisons  were  constantly  Extra  cloth- 
off  duty  for  several  weeks  each  winter  from  frost-  ing  for  cold 
bite,  not  to  speak  of  general  inability  to  take  the  climates 
field.  Now  frost-bite  on  duty  in  these  protected  men  is  very 
rare.  Under  great  exposure  the  use  also  of  sheepskin  sleeping- 
bags  with  the  fleece  inside  is  commended. 

Abdominal  protectors  are  small  aprons  of  two  thicknesses 
of  soft  flannel  sewn  or  quilted  together,  to  be  worn  next  the 
skin  over  the  bowels.  They  are  sanitary  pre-  Abdominal 
ventives  which  materially  diminish  the  number  protectors 
of  those  bowel  affections  that  prevail  in  regions  of  long-con- 
tinued heat.  These  are  not  issued,  but  they  are  so  valuable 
in  preserving  health  that  they  should  be  supplied  and  their 
habitual  use  required  in  subtropical  and  tropical  climates,  and 
elsewhere  on  occasion.  They  are  not  belts  and  they  do  not 
roll  up,  as  does  the  flannel  belt  to  the  annoyance  of  the  wearer 
and  the  defeat  of  its  purpose.  Nor  should  they  be  called  bands. 
The  protectors  are  suspended  from  a  tape  that  passes  around 
the  waist  and  ties  in  front,  and  they  readily  adjust  themselves 
and  lie  in  place.  One  should  be  worn  by  day  and  one  by  night, 
constantly.  These  are  not  to  be  confused  with  the  miscalled 
"cholera  belts,"  the  moral  effect  of  whose  name  of  sinister 
omen  is  bad  in  that,  by  constantly  directing  attention  to  a 
possibility,  it  magnifies  it  into  an  impending  evil.  Similar 
protection  should  be  given  the  liver  against  the  iiver 
chill  of  night.  This  is  not  easily  arranged,  but  the  protection 
principle  is  much  the  same,  and  recognition  of  its  importance 
should  lead  the  well  thus  to  guard  against  insidious  sickness. 
Both  sets  of  protectors  equalize  the  warmth,  so  that  the  local 
supply  of  blood  may  not  be  deranged  by  a  sudden  depression 
of  temperature.  Even  in  the  tropics  there  are  appreciable 


78  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

diurnal  changes.  Besides  the  cooling  from  sharp  wind  against 
the  comparatively  unprotected  skin,  there  always  is  a  fall  in 
the  thermometer  before  dawn.  The  superficial  blood  is  thus 
driven  inward,  and  the  daily  repetition  of  this  tends  to  congest 
the  internal  organs.  As  such  precaution  may  be  important 
in  preserving  health,  a  careful  captain  will  provide  means  for 
its  exercise. 

Besides  the  necessary  protection  of  the  head,  that  is  of  the 
great  nervous  mass,  the  brain,  from  the  direct  solar  rays  in  the 
Spinal  tropics,  the  spinal  cord,  another  important  nervous 

protection  centre,  requires  defence.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  the  direct  impingement  upon  the  spine  of  extreme  solar 
rays  of  heat,  and  perhaps  of  actinism,  is  harmful  to  the  cord. 
Artificial  shade,  as  from  an  umbrella,  being  impracticable  for 
soldiers,  there  should  be  protection  in  the  dress.  Writers  have 
recommended  a  narrow  non-conducting  pad  down  the  middle 
of  the  back  of  the  coat,  which  it  is  believed  is  sometimes  done 
by  the  British  in  India.  As  a  matter  of  precaution  such  a  non- 
conductor might  have  an  orange  covering,  as  Woodruff  suggests, 
to  intercept  the  actinic  rays.  It  certainly  is  important  that 
the  brim  of  the  service  hat  should  guard  the  nape  of  the  neck. 
In  contrast  with  these  precautions,  there  is  in  temperate 
climates  a  practice  to  be  forbidden.  A  certain  group  of  men, 
chiefly  of  German  birth  or  bringing  up,  if  not 
restrained,  will  wrap  their  throats  in  cold  weather 
in  woollen  scarfs  or  tippets.  This  induces  local  perspiration 
and  leads  to  the  colds  they  seek  to  avoid. 

A  sleeveless  chamois  jacket  has  been  recommended  for 
occasional  or  special  use.  It  appears  superfluous  under  ordi- 
Chamois  nary  conditions,  but  such  a  garment,  perforated, 
jacket  is  excellent  for  wearing  under  the  overshirt  in  cold 

or  windy  weather,  when  the  coat  is  or  is  not  worn.     It  is  very 
light  and  is  easily  transported.     This  is  not  an  arti- 
cle of  issue.     In  emergency,  the  use  of  stout  paper 
is  not  to  be  derided.     Paper  soles  slipped  within  the  shoes, 
and  plastrons  of  one  or  two  thicknesses  of  newspaper  over 


MILITARY  CLOTHING:  APPAREL  79 

the  breast  and  the  shoulder  blades,  are  effective  against  cold 
and  wind.  Newspapers  laid  between,  or  pinned  to,  blankets 
are  excellent  non-conductors  of  bodily  heat. 

Besides  being  encouraged  in  neatness  men  should  be  taught 
to  mend  the  rents  that  labor  and  accident  inflict,  and  to  keep 
their  clothing  in  repair  independently  of  the  crafts-  Eepair  of 
men.  Old  soldiers  generally  do  that  through  long  clothing 
experience,  but  all  soldiers  should  be  systematically  taught 
to  sew  as  carefully  and  as  neatly  as  sailors,  with  whom  it  is  a 
domestic  art.  The  aesthetic  as  well  as  the  material  aspect  of 
the  soldier's  dress  has  distinct  military  importance,  influence  of 
Men  may  be  taught  that  its  various  parts  have  uniform 
martial  significance  and  imply  corresponding  qualities  in  the 
wearer.  Distinctive  dress  should  foster  esprit  and  cultivate 
self-respect.  Soldiers  should  be  educated  to  live  up  to  their 
uniform  and  through  it  to  recognize  that,  as  individuals  as 
well  as  in  a  body,  they  represent  the  Government  both  as 
examplesof  its  dignity  and  as  agents  of  its  power.  They  should 
feel  superior  to  disorderly  and  unkempt  civilians,  if  proper 
stress  is  laid  upon  neatness  and  attractiveness  of  dress  in 
garrison  and  upon  its  serviceableness  in  the  field.  As  the  best- 
dressed  soldier  is  a  picked  man,  so  the  best-dressed  company 
will  be  an  example  to  the  others.  The  maintenance  of  a  high 
spirit,  even  in  costume,  is  an  element  of  health. 

The  efficiency  of  the  service  should  always  be  under  con- 
sideration, and  on  the  subject  of  clothing,  as  on  all  others, 
officers  should  maintain  an  open  mind.  It  can-  study  of 
not  be  held  that  an  established  condition  is  final  uniform 
either  in  quality  or  in  immutability,  or  that  change  and  im- 
provement are  identical.  The  presumption  is  always  in  favor 
of  the  status  in  quo,  but  there  can  be  no  progress  unless  thought 
is  taken  for  the  morrow.  The  officers  serving  with  troops  are 
those  upon  whom  the  administrative  staff  must  chiefly  depend 
for  the  results  attained  and  the  deficiencies  to  be  corrected. 
Hence  the  adjustment  of  every  clothing  scheme  is  to  be  thor- 
oughly tried  out  and,  like  any  other  plan  of  conduct,  should 


80  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

have  kindly  and  intelligent  scrutiny.  Apart  from  the  nature 
of  the  materials,  which  is  pretty  well  known,  the  essential 
query  would  be  as  to  the  simplicity  or  complexity  of  their 
arrangement.  Beyond  an  increase  of  cost,  multiple  details 
add  to  the  difficulty  of  supply  in  war,  and  when  supply  fails 
the  army  suffers.  Reports  of  approval  or  those  recommend- 
ing change  should  be  made  only  after  well-considered  study, 
for  thoughtless  complaint  and  immature  advice  are  more 
than  worthless,  they  are  misleading. 


XIII 

FOOD:  ITS   NATURE 

A  soldier  should  be  trained,  but  as  a  prerequisite  he  must  be 
vigorous.  His  vigor  depends  upon  his  mental  and  physical 
condition,  and  it  is  maintained  by  constant  renewal 
from  without.  Force  is  another  expression  for 
vigor,  and  "force  manifested  in  the  living  body  must  be  the 
correlative  expression  of  force  previously  latent  in  the  food 
eaten  or  the  tissue  formed."  That  is,  there  is  no  such  condi- 
tion as  adding  force  as  force  to  the  human  machine.  More  or 
less  energy  may  be  developed  in  man  according  to  circum- 
stances, but  in  all  cases  it  is  derived  from  material  which  after 
disintegration  has  been  assimilated  by  the  animal  tissues. 
The  energy  may  have  been  retained  in  reserve  from  a  previous 
redistribution  of  the  elements,  it  sometimes  is  expended  nearly 
as  rapidly  as  it  is  created,  and  it  may  within  limits  be  stored 
for  future  use.  Any  exhibition  of  energy  is  attended  by  an 
expenditure  of  animal  substance.  A  soldier's  food,  therefore, 
must  be  adequate  to  repair  the  ordinary  wear  and  Object  of 
tear  which  accompany  daily  existence,  it  should  food 
replace  any  special  waste,  and  should  supply  a  margin  for  an 
unusual  future  draft.  Besides,  if  the  soldier  is  yet  a  growing 
lad,  his  food  must  provide  for  that  growth.  Animal  heat  is 
a  form  of  energy,  but  it  is  so  unlike  the  usual  forms  developed 
in  mechanical  and  nervous  action  that  it  usually  is  classed  by 
itself,  so  that  food  is  commonly  spoken  of  as  the  source  of 
energy  and  of  animal  heat.  These  are  developed  partly  by 
a  very  immediate  breaking  up  and  use  of  the  food-constit- 
uents, and  partly  by  the  disintegration  of  existing  tissue. 
Food  also  forms  new  tissues.  Hence  it  is  to  be  said  that  the 
immediate  function  of  food  is  the  construction  of  animal 

81 


82  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

substance  and  the  evolution  of  energy.  Food  is  roughly 
divided  into  the  proteids  and  albuminoids  (sometimes  classed 
Classes  of  together  as  albuminates),  of  which  flesh  is  the 
food  type  but  not  the  exclusive  example,  grouped  as 

nitrogenous;  the  hydrocarbons  (fats),  and  the  carbohydrates 
(starches  and  sugars)  grouped  as  non-nitrogenous;  the  salts; 
and  water.  In  a  certain  sense  air  also  may  be  called  a  food. 
But  nearly  all  food  as  presented  for  use  contains  the  different 
chemical  classes,  and  it  is  assigned  to  one  or  the  other  chemical 
group  according  to  its  preponderance.  For  instance,  flesh, 

milk,  bread,  leguminous  plants  are  in  the  main, 

but  not  entirely,  proteids.  The  proteids  then  are 
not  identical  but  are  similar;  and  viewed  as  food  their  chief 
value  as  well  as  their  chief  characteristic  depends  upon  the 
contained  albumen  (C21H7N15C53S),  a  complex  substance  chiefly 
remarkable  for  the  presence  of  nitrogen  and  sulphur.  The 
carbohydrates  comprise  the  starches  and  sugars,  which  have 
Carbohy-  a  chemical  and  a  physiological  likeness.  Starch 
drates  (CBH10Og)  is  found  in  all  the  cereals,  especially  in 

wheat,  oats,  maize,  barley,  and  rye;  in  the  legumes  or  pulses; 
in  rice,  buckwheat,  the  potato,  carrots,  parsnips,  turnips, 
practically  in  all  vegetable  food.  Grape-sugar  or  glucose 
(C6H12O6H20)  and  cane-sugar  (Ci2H12On)  are  found  in  many 
vegetables.  Their  chemical  characteristic  is  the  fewness  of 
the  elements  and  the  comparative  simplicity  of  their  com- 
bination, wherein  they  resemble  starch,  and  by  which  on 
occasion  the  one  may  be  in  part  transformed  into  the  other. 
Hydro-  The  hydrocarbons  are  the  fats  and  oils,  whose 
carbons  chemical  feature  is  the  excess  of  carbon  and  hydro- 
gen and  the  small  amount  of  oxygen  (C10HlgO)  as  compared 
with  the  carbohydrates.  The  inorganic  salts  are  chiefly 
chlorides  and  phosphates,  compounds  of  calcium,  potassium, 

and  sodium,  not  great  in  amount  but  important. 

They  are  generally  supplied  in  composition  with 
the  ordinary  alimentary  substances.  All  of  these  classes, 
but  especially  the  proteids,  the  minerals,  and  water,  build 


FOOD:   ITS  NATURE  83 

working  tissue;  the  organic  components  evolve  energy;  and 
heat  is  the  product  of  cell  life.  In  fact  life  is  essentially 
a  form  of  motion.  It  is  maintained  by  the  rejec-  Kequire- 
tion  of  old  and  worn-out  particles,  and  by  the  ments  of  life 
assimilation  of  new  particles  to  replace  these  or  to  develop  the 
body  still  further.  All  life  is  thus  the  manifestation  of  change, 
and  the  instant  a  tissue  is  microscopically  at  rest  it  is  dead. 

To  summarize  the  special  nutritive  qualities  of  these  various 
constituents,  we  find  that  nitrogen  must  be  supplied  in  some 
form;  for  when  it  has  been  cut  off  the  various 
functions  gradually  languish  as  the  reserve  in  store 
becomes  exhausted.  Of  course  the  carbon,  the  hydrogen,  and 
the  oxygen  are  necessary  also,  for  as  there  is  no  food  (except 
the  minerals  in  part)  that  does  not  contain  these,  it  is  im- 
possible to  eliminate  them  and  to  eat  any  food  at  all.  But  it 
is  not  impossible  to  consume  food  otherwise  nutritious  that 
is  devoid  of  nitrogen.  When  that  is  done,  however,  there  is 
a  proportionate  loss  of  vigor;  and  because  nitrogen  is  essen- 
tial to  energy,  intellectual  capacity  and  bodily  vigor  are  found 
only  among  those  who  use  a  predominating  nitrogenous  diet. 
Further,  the  normal  interstitial  changes  in  the  human  body, 
which  might  be  expressed  as  freedom  from  physical  stagnation, 
are  a  measure  of  health.  These  changes  require  the  presence 
of  oxygen  and  its  incorporation  in  the  tissues.  Now  the 
acquisition  of  free  oxygen  from  the  atmosphere  appears  to  be 
conditioned  by  the  presence  of  nitrogen  within  the  body. 
"The  absorption  of  oxygen  does  not  determine  the  changes 
in  the  tissues,  but  the  changes  in  the  tissues  determine  the 
absorption  of  oxygen"  (Parkes).  All  this  is  particularly  true 
for  soldiers,  and  a  constant  problem  is  to  secure  an  adequate 
store  of  available  nitrogen.  It  does  not  always  happen  that 
the  most  ample  supply,  especially  if  continuous,  is  the  best; 
but  there  must  be  a  continuous  allowance  of 
nitrogen  from  which  to  draw  as  required,  especially 
in  the  field.  The  starches  and  sugars  enter  into  the  structure 
of  the  tissues,  but  preliminary  thereto  the  starch  must  become 


84  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

sugar.  This  occurs  under  the  action  of  the  saliva,  and  by  the 
aid  of  cookery,  when  the  starch  becomes  dextrine,  of  identical 
chemical  composition  but  of  different  atomic  arrangement, 
or  into  grape-sugar  (glucose,  C8H12O6H2O).  Cane-sugar 
(C12H12On)  is  also  converted  into  grape-sugar  in  an  early  stage 
of  digestion,  and  in  the  liver  it  is  further  transformed  into 
animal  starch  or  glycogen  (C5H10O5).  The  formulas  which 
represent  these  chemical  changes  have  no  interest  in  such  a 
work  of  application  as  this,  beyond  tracing  the  changes 
which  actually  occur.  It  is  more  important  to  know  that 
starch  must  be  thoroughly  masticated,  or  be  carefully  cooked, 
than  to  remember  the  symbols  which  differentiate  one  state 
from  the  other. 

When  cane-sugar  has  become  glycogen,   it  is   stored  in 
the  body  to  be  called  on  as  required.      The  part  played  in 
the   system  by   sugar,    and  by  starch  after  its 
conversion  into  sugar,  is  threefold:    It  increases 
bulk;  its  excess  is  transformed  into  fat;  and  under  emer- 
gency sugar  supplies  a  comparatively  transient  but  an  im- 
mediate and  real  access  of  energy. 

The  hydrocarbons,  or  fats  and  oils,  contain  much  more 
hydrogen  and  carbon  and  much  less  oxygen  than  the  carbo- 
hydrates, the  starches  and  sugars.  The  formula 
for  the  typical  hydrocarbon  is  C10H180.  They  are 
derived  from,  or  more  literally  they  are,  the  nutritive  fats  and 
oils  of  commerce,  animal  and  vegetable;  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  fat  which  is  stored  in  the  body  is  acquired  from  the 
fat  which  is  eaten.  On  the  other  hand  human  fat  is  mainly, 
if  not  entirely,  derived  from  the  starches  and  sugars.  When 
fat  is  taken  as  food  it  is  broken  up  into  fine  particles  within  the 
intestines,  through  whose  walls  it  is  absorbed,  but  its  ultimate 
destination  is  obscure.  The  common  and  probably  correct 
opinion  is  that  a  part  of  it  is  actually  assimilated  in  the  tissues 
at  large,  not  stored,  and  a  part  of  it  is  disintegrated  as  fuel. 
It  is  probable  that  it  is  built  into  nerve  and  muscle  and  marrow, 
else  fat  would  not  be  so  urgently  demanded  as  sometimes  is 


FOOD:  ITS  NATURE  85 

the  case.  But  its  function  as  fuel  seems  the  most  constant 
and  therefore  the  more  important  function.  If  fat  is  broken 
up  into  a  lower  combination  for  disposal  as  waste,  the  very 
act  of  reduction  develops  heat  through  cell-action,  and  that 
may  reasonably  be  the  final  cause  of  its  presence.  To  that 
extent  it  relieves  the  organized  structures  from  wasting  too 
rapidly.  Without  the  reason  being  clearly  explicable,  fat 
seems  to  be  essential  to  all  growth  and  hence  it  is  especially 
necessary  to  the  immature.  It  is  probably  the  non-gratifica- 
tion of  the  instinctive  craving  for  fat,  that  in  part  makes  the 
ration  objectionable  to  and  insufficient  for  young  recruits. 
They  may  have  no  conscious  recognition  of  the  particular 
deficiency,  but  cadets  and  junior  recruits  alike  should  have 
access  to  such  material  in  palatable  condition.  Where  milk 
and  butter  are  unavailable,  as  will  usually  be  the  case,  cheese 
and  the  simpler  animal  fats  should  be  supplied.  In  garrison, 
oleomargarine  is  acceptable  and  useful  when  properly  served, 
and  a  well-managed  company  fund  will  generally  furnish  it. 
Fat  itself  served  directly  as  food  is  commonly  objectionable 
to  the  stomach  in  health,  and  its  grosser  forms  are  apt  to  dis- 
gust the  appetite.  But  in  association  with  other  food  and 
somewhat  disguised  by  cookery  it  becomes  acceptable  and 
certainly  is  nutritious.  The  wise  instincts  of  nature  allow 
much  more  of  the  animal  fats  to  be  eaten  in  cold  than  in  warm 
climates,  while  in  the  warmer  latitudes  the  vegetable  oils  are 
freely  consumed.  But  when  fat,  which  is  always  digested  in 
the  intestines  and  not  in  the  stomach,  is  in  excess  there  it  is 
liable  to  decompose.  The  main  point  to  be  remembered  about 
the  starches  and  sugars  and  the  fats  and  oils  is,  that  both 
groups  are  necessary  parts  of  human  diet  and,  however  they 
may  appear  to  have  a  chemical  likeness,  they  are  not  inter- 
changeable nor  substitutive. 

The  inorganic  or  mineral  salts  are  chiefly  chlorides  and  phos- 
phates,  compounds  of  calcium,   potassium,    and 

'    \  Mineral  salts 

sodium,  not  great  in  amount  but  important,  and 

excepting  common  salt,  these  are  generally  supplied  in  com- 


86  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

position  with  the  ordinary  alimentary  substances.  Common 
salt  (NaCl)  is  that  one  of  this  group  which  is  required  so 

freely  that  it  must  be  supplied  systematically  as 
Common  salt  .  J 

an  article  of  food.     Its  value  is  notorious.     It  is 

found  in  every  tissue  except  the  enamel  of  the  teeth,  it  assists 
digestion,  and  in  part  it  regulates  the  passage  of  the  fluids 
through  the  denser  tissues.  The  instinctive  demand  for  it 
is  so  urgent  that  when  it  may  not  otherwise  be  had  rude  men 
and  wild  animals  make  long  journeys  to  acquire  it.  The  im- 
portance of  salt  as  a  preservative  of  food  is  so  great  that  it 
ranks  among  the  supplies  of  war,  and  an  enemy's  salt-works 
are  frequently  as  true  an  objective  as  his  powder-works. 
Lime,  a  calcium  compound,  is  required  for  bone  and  the 
potassium  salts  for  blood  and  muscle,  both  being  derived 
Vegetable  from  ordinary  food.  The  organic  or  vegetable 
salts  salts  are  lactates,  tartrates,  citrates  and  acetates, 

which  become  carbonates  in  the  blood  and  thus  maintain  its 
necessary  alkalinity.  The  acids  from  which  these  salts  are 
derived  exist  chiefly  in  fresh  fruits  and  vegetables,  and 
while  their  directly  nutritive  value  is  small  their  physio- 
logical value  is  important  because  their  deficiency  in  the  blood 
is  followed  by  the  serious  disease  scurvy.  Hence  it  is  a  well- 
known  principle  of  dietetics  that,  for  the  sake  of  their  con- 
tained salts,  vegetables  must  be  supplied  as  anti-scorbutics. 
Air  was  referred  to  as  in  the  nature  of  a  food, 
although  it  is  not  commonly  so  regarded,  because 
its  free  oxygen  is  carried  in  solution  by  the  blood  to  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  body  where,  on  demand,  it  is  yielded  to  the 
primary  cell-combinations  that  make  up  the  ultimate  struc- 
tures. As  the  respiratory  air  is  impure  or  the  proportion  of 
fresh  air  is  deficient,  there  must  be  inadequate  nutrition; 
consequently  a  defective  air-supply,  whether  in  the  crowded 
tenements  of  the  poor  or  the  poor  barracks  of  densely-quartered 
soldiery,  yields  all  the  signs  of  anaemia  or  bloodlessness,  which 
is  one  of  the  consequences  of  mal-nutrition.  Soldiers  suffer 
less  in  the  aggregate  than  the  closely-packed  poor,  because 


FOOD:   ITS  NATURE  87 

they  must  be  out  of  doors  a  part  of  the  time;  but  the  condition 
is  the  same  in  kind,  if  not  in  degree.  When  the  air  is  entirely 
cut  off,  the  man  is  said  to  be  suffocated,  which  is  only  another 
expression  for  self-poisoned;  but  in  the  preliminary  stages  we 
may  properly  regard  him  as  being  ill  fed  with  the  vital  aerial 
subsistence.  Water  is  not  strictly  a  food,  inasmuch  as  "it 
undergoes  no  change,  no  chemical  alteration,  in 
the  body,  and  hence  is  not  susceptible  of  liberating 
force.  But  it  contributes  to  chemical  change  by  supplying 
a  necessary  condition  for  its  occurrence  in  other  bodies." 
Water  makes  that  solution  of  the  food  which  is  necessary  for 
digestion;  the  tissues  are  bathed  in  fluid,  and  our  secretions 
and  excretions  in  great  part  escape  in  water.  It  carries  the 
solid  infinitesimal  tissue-making  particles  all  through  the 
body  and  it  bears  away  excrementitious  matter.  A  man  dies 
of  thirst  sooner  than  of  hunger,  and  the  wounded  require  water 
to  replace  an  essential  element  that  is  escaping  with  the  blood 
as  well  as  to  maintain  a  sufficient  mechanical  bulk  in  the 
circulating  fluid.  The  thirst  of  the  wounded  man  is  also  often 
aggravated  by  the  perspiration  he  has  previously  lost  in  the 
severe  exertion  of  battle.  Water  is  further  of  peculiar  hygi- 
enic importance  as  one  of  the  most  common  avenues  for  the 
introduction  of  serious  disease. 

The  practical  purpose  of  military  dietetics  is  to  determine 
the  character  of  the  food  necessary  for  the  repair  of  waste  and 
the  supply  of  energy  in  soldiers,  the  amounts  re-    Military 
quired,  and  the  form  in  which  it  is  to  be  supplied,    dietetics 
As  the  inorganic  salts,  sodium  chloride  excepted,  are  generally 
found  in  sufficient  quantities  in  ordinary  alimentary  substances, 
these  need  not  be  separately  considered.     On  the  fundamental 
principle  that  the  province  of  food  is  to  supply  bulk,  energy, 
and  animal  heat,  the  general  proposition  is  that    prop0rtion 
carbon  and  nitrogen  represent  the  required  mate-    of  food 
rials  and  that  man  needs  about  fifteen  times  as    elements 
much  carbon  as  nitrogen.    As  has  been  explained,  nearly  every 
food  is  both  carbonaceous  and  nitrogenous,  and  it  is  ranged  in 


88  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

one  rank  or  the  other  according  to  the  preponderance  of  the 
element  in  question.  Practically  the  proteids  are  the  main 
source  of  nitrogen,  and  the  fats,  the  starches,  and  the  sugars 
supply  the  carbon,  notwithstanding  there  is  some  carbon  in 
flesh  and  a  good  deal  of  nitrogen  in  flour  and  other  forms  of 
vegetable  food,  and  so  all  through  the'scale.  Hence  in  theory 
it  would  be  possible  for  a  man  to  live  on  a  single  kind  of  diet. 
But  to  do  that  he  must  eat  very  much  too  much  of  one  sort  of 
food  in  order  to  get  enough  of  the  other.  Thus  confining  a 
man  to  a  meat  diet  would  require  him  to  absorb  four  times  as 
much  nitrogen  as  otherwise  .would  be  necessary  in  order  to 
obtain  sufficient  carbon;  or  a  bread  diet  would  overload  him 
with  carbon  while  he  acquired  the  proper  amount  of  nitrogen. 
To  supply  the  necessary  nitrogen  and  carbon  by  means  of  only 
one  kind  of  food,  would  require  six  and  a  half  pounds  of  flesh, 
or  four  and  a  half  pounds  of  bread,  or  fifteen  pounds  of 
potatoes  a  day,  and  this  at  the  risk  of  disease  from  the  surplus, 
presupposing  the  whole  to  be  digested.  The  albumen  of  flesh 
must  therefore  be  supplemented  by  fats,  starches,  sugars, 
organic  acids,  inorganic  salts,  etc.,  and  bread  requires  flesh, 
fat,  and  the  other  varieties  of  food.  The  problem  of  all  diets 
is  to  secure  the  proper  proportion  of  each  class  and  form  of 
Problem  of  food  at  a  cost  proportionate  to  the  means  of  the 
diets  consumer  or  of  his  employer,  and  to  utilize  it 

without  undue  strain  upon  the  animal  economy.  A  military 
diet  must  be  sufficiently  palatable  and  digestible  for  long- 
continued  use,  compact  enough  for  convenient  transportation, 
sufficiently  stable  not  to  undergo  unreasonable  waste  or  de- 
structive changes,  and  it  should  not  be  expensive. 

In  a  scientific  estimate  of  its  nutritive  value  the  water  which 
all  food  contains  in  mechanical  combination  is  disregarded. 
The  amount  of  such  water  is  about  fifty  per  cent,  more  than 
Water-free  the  really  nutritive  value  of  the  food  in  question, 
food  Hence  when  the  physiologist  asks  for  six  ounces 

of  water-free  food,  the  amount  actually  furnished  should  be, 
roughly  speaking,  about  nine  ounces.  So  for  all  practical 


FOOD:  ITS  NATURE  89 

purposes  the  Subsistence  department  issues  and  the  companies 
dispose  of  food  in  the  commercial  terms  of  the  market  and  not 
in  those  of  the  laboratory.  It  is  interesting  however  to  note 
the  calculation  of  water-free  food  that  Parkes,  the  great  Eng- 
lish military  hygienist,  made  for  the  British  soldier  in  his  two 
conditions  of  garrison  and  field  service.  Garrison  life  prac- 
tically corresponds  to  the  "  life  of  activity  "  of  the  physiologists, 
and  field  service  is  equivalent  to  their  standard  "hard  labor." 
This  is  Parkes's  schedule : 

Garrison.  Field. 

Ounces.  Ounces. 

Proteids  (flesh) 4.31  6-  7 

Carbohydrates  (starch  and  sugar) . . .  .11.71  16-18 

Hydrocarbons  (fat  and  oil) 3.53  3.5-4.5 

Salts 1.10  1.2-1.5 

20.65  26.7-31 

Besides  the  solids,  from  three  to  five  pints  of  liquid  are  taken 
daily.     But  under  conditions  of  enforced  inactivity  and  priva- 
tion combined,  life  may  be  sustained  on  much  less    Minimum 
than  that   or  any    other  standard  for  activity,    "pply 
Thus,  during  the  siege  of  Paris,  1871,  inactive  civilians  pre- 
served life  on  one  ounce  of  meat  and  ten  ounces  of  bread  per 
diem. 


XIV 

FOOD:   THE   CONSTITUTION   AND    MANAGEMENT   OF 
THE   RATION 

The  ration  is  the  established  allowance  of  food  for  one  per- 
son for  one  day,  and  not  for  one  meal  as  many  non-military 
people  suppose.  It  varies  with  the  duty  of  the 
troops  or  their  station,  so  that  there  are  six  formal 
rations.  These  are:  the  garrison  ration,  for  troops  in  garrison  or 
permanent  camps;  the  field  ration,  for  troops  not  in  garrison 
or  permanent  camps;  the  haversack  ration,  for  troops  in 
active  campaign  in  the  field  with  limited  transportation;  the 
Varieties  emergency  ration,  for  troops  in  active  campaign  on 
of  the  ration  occasion  of  emergency  (or  for  instruction,  not  to 
exceed  three  days  in  one  year);  the  travel  ration,  for  troops 
travelling  otherwise  than  by  marching  and  separated  from 
facilities  for  cooking;  and  the  Filipino  ration,  for  the  use  of  the 
Philippine  Scouts.  Which  of  the  several  rations  is  to  be  used 
on  any  particular  service  will  be  directed  by  the  commanding 
officer.  Troops  in  Alaska  have  an  additional  allowance  of 
Management  some  of  the  articles  (but  not  a  distinct  ration),  and 
of  the  ration  the  elasticity  of  the  formal  ration  is  increased 
through  the  privilege  of  exchanging  some  of  its  components 
for  other  articles  of  food.  The  use  the  company  commander 
makes  of  the  ration  demonstrates  one  form  of  his  administra- 
tive ability,  as  well  as  the  degree  of  his  interest  in  his  men. 
Should  the  ration  prove  inadequate  at  some  particular  occa- 
sion, other  articles  of  food  may  be  added  or  the  allowance  be 
Company  increased  through  the  agency  of  the  company  fund, 
fund  This  fund  is  the  gross  amount  of  money  received 

from    all    sources    by    the    company    as    an    organization. 
The  ration  as  consumed  may  be  directly  increased  by  pur- 

90 


FOOD:   MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  RATION  91 

chases  from  the  company  fund  itself  augmented  by  the  sale  of 
certain  unconsumed  components,  as  bacon,  sugar,  coffee,  vine- 
gar; by  adding  produce  from  the  gardens,  when  circumstances 
permit  their  cultivation;  exceptionally  by  the  results  of  hunt- 
ing and  fishing;  and  by  the  company's  share  in  the  profits  of 
the  post  bakery  and  the  post  exchange,  which  go  to  the  com- 
pany fund.  The  soldier's  pay  is  never  " stopped"  for  the 
purchase  of  food,  no  ''messing  fund"  is  collected  from  the  men, 
and  voluntary  contributions  are  very  rarely  made  or  desired. 
The  undrawn  components,  technically  known  as  "  the  savings," 
of  the  garrison,  travel,  or  Filipino  ration  are  pur- 
chased by  the  Subsistence  department  at  the  cur- 
rent prices  of  the  component,  not  of  the  substitutive,  articles; 
or  rations  actually  drawn  but  not  consumed  may  be  sold  in  the 
open  market  and  other  food  may  be  purchased;  or  such  uncon- 
sumed rations  may  be  bartered  for  food  m  kind.  It  is  forbid- 
den to  make  savings  with  the  object  of  purchasing  elsewhere 
any  article  of  the  ration  carried  by  the  commissary,  and  the 
wisdom  of  that  regulation  is  apparent  when  it  is  remembered 
that,  although  sold  under  the  same  name,  the  cheaper  article 
is  apt  to  be  of  an  inferior  grade.  But  food  not  carried  by  the 
commissary,  as  well  as  additional  supplies  of  subsistence  stores, 
to  add  to  the  variety  or  the  volume  of  the  mess,  may  be  bought 
with  the  company  fund.  No  savings  are  allowed  for  troops  on 
United  States  transports,  and  back  rations  are  not  issued  nor 
are  savings  allowed  in  the  field. 

The  consumption  of  the  regulation  ration  in  garrison  is  so 
variable  owing  to  barter,  sale,  purchase,  cultivation,  etc.,  that 
it  is  impracticable  to  judge  of  its  fitness  in  one  Adequacy  of 
place  from  its  suitability  in  another.  The  idea  the  ration 
that  prevailed  with  some  students  of  military  economics  that 
the  regular  ration,  even  before  it  reached  its  present  lib- 
eral proportions,  was  over-abundant  received  its  greatest  color 
from  the  excess  of  fat  and  salts  in  the  bacon  and  from  the  con- 
sequent possibility  of  disposing  of  part  when  all  bacon  was 
issued.  In  the  field,  where  it  is  the  most  important  and  where 


92  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

back  rations  are  not  issued  nor  can  savings  be  technically 
acquired,  when  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  the  service  rations 
are  not  drawn,  the  food  supply  is  the  least  elastic.  But,  as 
explained  later,  there  is  provision  for  the  issue  of  extra  food 
within  certain  limitations  of  time  and  expense,  when  necessary 
for  the  health  and  comfort  of  troops  after  they  have  been  de- 
prived of  the  garrison  allowance.  In  garrison,  because  the 
ration  may  seem  in  excess  the  temptation  is  to  accumulate 
savings.  Such  accumulation  is  laudable  when  made  in  pre- 
vision of  occasions  of  scarcity  or  of  monotonous  diet,  but  to 
accumulate  a  great  fund  at  the  expense  of  the  mess-table  is 
not  true  economy.  It  is  especially  to  be  remembered  that 
coffee  and  sugar  should  be  saved  only  when  the  proteids  are 
so  low  as  to  require  the  transmutation  of  those  comparative 
luxuries  into  nitrogenous  food.  The  practical  question  at  the 
bottom  of  any  discussion  of  the  ration  must  always  be:  Are 
the  meat  and  the  bread  sufficient?  When  of  good  quality,  the 
beef  ration  is  sufficient,  especially  when  issued  in  amounts  that 
make  little  relative  wastage.  When  issued  as  soft  bread,  .the 
regulation  ration  of  eighteen  ounces  is  not  always  sufficient  for 
emergencies;  but  this  may  be  increased  in  the  discretion  of 
the  council  of  administration  to  twenty  ounces,  by  using  the 
bakery  savings.  During  a  part  of  the  Civil  War  it  was  found 
necessary  to  increase  the  bread  ration  to  twenty-two  ounces 
of  soft  bread  or  flour.  At  the  same  time  to  every  hundred 
rations  was  added  thirty  pounds  of  potatoes.  The  present 
Fresh  vege-  allowance  of  fresh  vegetables  for  garrison  and  field 
tables  use  is  still  more  liberal;  but  unfortunately  ques- 

tions of  transportation,  markets,  and  other  difficulties  some- 
times limit  their  issue  in  the  field  where  they  are  most 
needed. 

The  authorized  garrison  and  field  rations,  the  latter 
Garrison  and  being  somewhat  less  elastic,  are  set  forth  in  the 
field  rations  following  tables;  but  as  the  ration  may  at  any 
time  be  changed  by  regulation,  these  cannot  be  accepted  as 
final. 


FOOD:  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  RATION  93 

TABLE  OF  GARRISON  RATIONS 

Per  ration.        Per  hundred, 
oz.  Ibs. 

Beef,  fresh 20  125 

or      Mutton,  fresh 20  125 

or     Bacon 12  75 

or      Bacon  in  Alaska 16  100 

or      Salt  pork  in  Alaska  when  desired 16  100 

or      Salt  beef  in  Alaska  when  desired 22  137 . 5 

or      Canned  meat,  when  fresh  cannot  be  supplied  .16  100 

or     Hash,  corned  beef,  when  fresh  meat  cannot  be 

supplied 16  100 

or      Fish,  dried 14  87 . 5 

or     Fish,  pickled 18  112 . 5 

or     Fish,  canned 16  100 

or  Chicken  or  turkey,  dressed,  on  national  holi- 
days when  practicable 16  100 

and  Flour 18  112.5 

or     Soft  bread 18  112 . 5 

or      Hard  bread,  when  flour  or  soft  bread  cannot 

be  supplied 16  100 

or     Corn  meal 20  125 

and  Baking  powder .. 08  .5 

and  Beans ". 2.4  15 

or     Rice 1.6  10 

or     Hominy 1.6  10 

and  Potatoes 20  125 

and  Potatoes  in  Alaska 24  150 

or     Potatoes,  canned 15  91 . 25 

or      Potatoes,  canned,  in  Alaska 18  112.5 

or  Onions,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity  of  pota- 
toes, but  not  exceeding  20  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  issue. 

or  Tomatoes,  canned,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  potatoes,  but  not  exceeding  20  per 
cent,  of  the  total  issue. 

or  Other  fresh  vegetables  (not  canned),  when 
obtainable  in  the  vicinity,  or  they  can 
be  transported  in  a  wholesome  condition 
from  a  distance,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity 
of  potatoes,  but  not  exceeding  30  per  cent, 
of  the  total  issue. 

and  Prunes 1 . 28  8 

or     Apples,  dried  or  evaporated 1 . 28  8 

or      Peaches,  dried  or  evaporates 1 . 28  8 

or      Jam,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity  of  prunes, 
but  not  exceeding  50  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
issue.   But  at  least  30  percent,  of  the  issue 
to  be  prunes,  when  practicable, 
and  Coffee,  roasted  and  ground 1.12  7 


94  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

Per  ration.     Per  hundred, 
oz.  Ibs. 

or      Coffee,  roasted  not  ground 1.12  7 

or      Coffee,  green 1.4  8.75 

or     Tea,  black  or  green 32  2 

and  Sugar 3.2  20 

and  Milk,  evaporated,  unsweetened 5  3. 125 

and  Vinegar 16  gill          2  qts. 

or  Pickles,  cucumber,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  vinegar,  but  not  to  exceed  50  per 
cent  of  the  total  issue . 

and  Salt 64  4 

and  Pepper,  black 04 

and  Cinnamon 014  . 875 

or      Cloves 014  .875 

or      Ginger 014  .875 

or      Nutmeg 014  .875 

and  Lard 64  .4 

and  Butter 5  3.125 

or      Oleomargarine 5  3 . 125 

and  Syrup 32  gill          1  gal. 

and  Flavoring  extract,  lemon 014  oz.  .875 

or      Flavoring  extract,  vanilla 014  oz.  .875 

The  non-edible  articles,  soap  and  candles,  formerly  technical 
components  of  the  ration,  are  now  supplied  otherwise. 

For  convenience,  the  field  ration,  supplied  troops  not  in 
garrison  or  permanent  camps,  is  set  forth  before  taking 
up  the  components  which  are  embodied  in  these  tables; 
for  the  minor  or  subsidiary  rations  are  but  variations  of 
the  two  great  groups. 

TABLE  OF  FIELD  RATIONS 

Per  ration,       Per  hundred, 

oz.  Ibs. 

Beef,  fresh,  when  procurable  locally 20  125 

or      Mutton,  fresh,  when  procurable  locally 20  125 

or      Bacon 12  75 

or      Canned  meat 16  100 

or      Hash,  corned  beef 16  100 

and  Flour 18  112.5 

or     Soft  bread. 18  112.5 

or~  Hard  bread 16  100 

and  Baking  powder,  when  ovens  are  not  avail- 
able . 64  4 

and  Yeast,  dried  or  compressed,  when  ovens  are 

available 04  .25 

and  Beans 2.4  2.4 


FOOD:  MANAGEMENT  OF   THE  RATION  95 

Per  ration.       Per  hundred, 
oz.  Ibs. 

or     Rice 1-6  10 

and  Potatoes,  when  procurable  locally.  .  . 16  100 

or      Potatoes,  canned 12  75 

or  Onions,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity  of  pota- 
toes, but  not  exceeding  20  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  issue,  only  when  procurable  locally. 
or  Tomatoes,  canned,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  potatoes,  but  not  exceeding  20  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  issue. 

and  Jam 1.4  8.75 

and  Coffee,  roasted  and  ground 1.12  7 

or     Tea,  black  or  green 32 

and  Sugar 3.2  20 

and  Milk,  evaporated,  unsweetened 5  3  125 

and  Vinegar 16  gill          2  qts. 

or  Pickles,  cucumber,  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  vinegar,  not  to  exceed  50  per  cent, 
of  the  total  issue . 

and  Salt 64  4 

and  Pepper,  black 04  .25 

It  is  probable  that  the  ration  of  to-day,  as  set  forth  in  the 
preceding  table,  substantially  fills  all  the  reasonable  require- 
ments of  an  efficient  military  force,  and  that  the  Sufficiency  of 
extreme  elasticity  needed  for  the  great  geographic  tte  ration 
and  climatic  range  over  which  our  troops  serve  has  been 
attained.    When  this  ration  is  properly  cooked  it  would  appear 
that,  regardless  of  minor  modifications  which  experience  may 
show  desirable,  so  far  as  subsistence  is  a  factor  an  effective  and 
well-satisfied  army  may  be  guaranteed.     It  is  a  possible  ques- 
tion whether,  in  time  of  war,  its  cost  and  profusion  may  not 
interfere  with  its  actual  distribution.     Still,  intelligent  com- 
ment is  always  in  order,  looking  sometimes  to  re-arrangement, 
occasionally  to  omission  or  addition.     When  the  ration  was 
not  so  elaborate,   medical  officers  of  experience  Opini0ns  on 
expressed  the  opinion  that  the  flour  or  soft-bread  amounts  of 
component  should  always  be  twenty-two  ounces,  flour»  meal» 
except  when  on  fatigue,  when  it  should  be  twenty-    ea'  po  ' 
four  ounces;  and  that  thirty  pounds  of  flour  should  be  added  to 
a  hundred  rations  of  hard  bread  (4.8  ounces  to  the  ration) ,  so 
that  occasional  soft  biscuits  or  rolls  might  be  made.    The  bread 


96  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

ration  has  not  been  quite  sufficient  for  a  hungry,  vigorous  man 
although  the  vegetables  now  issued  more  nearly  fill  the  demand. 
Hard  bread  is  issued  now  only  as  a  substitute  for  flour,  pre- 
sumably where  flour  cannot  be  utilized,  as  in  the  field  or  in  a 
garrison  emergency.  Where  there  are  facilities  for  baking 
biscuit  when  hard  bread  is  issued,  the  suggestion  would  cer- 
tainly be  acceptable  if  not  directly  necessary  to  be  carried  out. 
When  corn-meal  is  issued  they  thought  twenty-four  instead  of 
twenty  ounces  should  be  the  allowance.  They  also  thought 
that  sixty  pounds  of  potatoes  to  the  hundred  rations  (or 
9.6  ounces  instead  of  the  16  ounces  then,  and  the  20  ounces 
now,  to  the  ration)  would  be  sufficient.  The  increased  ration 
of  potatoes,  when  actually  supplied,  should  be  observed  with 
great  interest;  for  it  would  appear  that  there  is  some  risk  of  an 
over-issue  of  starchy  food.  The  officers  cited  also  advised  that 
the  two  pounds  of  tea  to  the  hundred  rations  might  be  reduced 
to  a  pound  and  a  half,  or  .24  ounces  instead  of  .32  ounces  to 
the  ration.  If  tea  is  ever  seriously  taken  up  as  a  part  of  the 
American  soldier's  diet,  the  allowance  should  be  increased 
probably  to  one  ounce,  especially  for  the  field. 

It  has  been  an  approved  custom  of  the  service,  but  one  not 
required  by  the  regulations,  to  issue  fresh  meat  seven  and  salt 
Proportion  meat  three  days  in  ten.  Salt  meat  other  than 
of  fresh  and  bacon  is  no  longer  issued  (except  in  Alaska),  but 
salt  food  some  form  of  preserved  fish  may  be  substituted. 
The  proportion  of  the  various  articles  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
company  commander  subject  to  oversight,  as  required,  by  the 
commanding  officer.  The  health  of  the  troops  and  the  pecuni- 
ary interest  of  the  Government  are  the  special  points  to  be 
considered,  the  latter  being  subordinate;  but  in  the  military 
service  above  all  others  there  should  be  no  unnecessary  expense, 
and  it  is  easy  to  cause  discontent  with  the  plainer  fare  of  the 
field  by  unwise  profusion  in  the  posts. 

Besides  the  field  ration  proper,  there  are  also  arranged  for 
field  use  the  haversack  ration  and  the  emergency  ration.  The 
haversack  ration  consists  of: 


FOOD:  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  RATION  97 

,  HAVERSACK  RATION 

OH. 

Bacon 12 

Hard  bread 16 

Coffee,  roasted  and  ground 1.12 

Sugar 2.4 

Salt 16 

Pepper,  black 02 

Presumably  the  haversack  ration  will  be  issued  to  troops  march- 
ing light  at  a  distance  from  a  field  base,  or  in  immediate  touch 
with  the  enemy,  where  the  trains  are  inaccessible.    Haversack 
It  is  probable  also  that  it  will  be  required  to  cover    ration 
a  longer  period  than  nominally  allotted.     Meagre  as  it  appears 
beside  the  normal  field  ration,  if  properly  cared  for  it  is  adequate 
during  a  reasonable  period  for  mature  men  (not  growing  lads) 
who  start  out  in  good  health.     It  has  repeatedly    Relation  of 
been  demonstrated  that  five  days7  full  rations  of    quantity  to 
hard  bread,  bacon,  and  coffee,  which  is  practically    time 
the  haversack  ration,  especially  if  a  little  pea  meal  is  added  for 
soup-making  and  tobacco  for  those  dependent  upon  it,  will 
maintain  with  trifling  loss  of  weight  the  health  and  vigor  of 
men  actively  engaged  for  at  least  ten  days.     The  half-ration 
contains  rather  more  of  the  food  elements  than  a  mere  sub- 
sistence diet  calls  for,  and  the  animal  reserve  may  be  drawn 
upon  to  yield  extra  exertion.     But  the  loss  must  be  made  good 
subsequently.     As  issued,  there  does  not  appear  to  be  quite 
enough  coffee  nor  quite  enough  sugar,  especially    Coffee  and 
when  reckoning  with  the  inevitable  waste  from  the    8USar 
mode  of  carriage.     It  would  be  better  to  increase  the  roasted 
and  ground  coffee  to  1.5  ounces;  and  the  sugar  to  at  least 
3  ounces,  when  one  remembers  that  sugar  is  certainly  a  real, 
although  somewhat  temporary,  producer  of  energy.    A  serious 
embarrassment  with  all  rations  borne  upon  the    Bulk  of 
person  is  the  bulk  of  the  bread  component,  which    tread 
can  only  be  taken  as  hard  bread  or  biscuit.     Five  days'  rations 
would  represent  five  pounds  of  bread,  and  this  can  most  eco- 
nomically be  stored  in  stiff  pasteboard  cartons.      If  these  are 


98  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

half-pound  packages,  two  or  more  may  be  carried  at  the 
outset  in  the  pockets  to  relieve  the  haversack.  It  is  not 
believed  that  this  ration  can  be  materially  reduced,  but  the 
soldier  should  be  accustomed  to  think  that  five  days'  standard 
food  may  mean  in  fact  ten  days'  actual  provision,  supplemented 
possibly  by  regulated  foraging.  After  fatal  casualties  the 
haversack  contents  should  not  be  lost.  The  field  regulations 
properly  announce:  " During  active  operations  troops  should 
Incomplete  not  expect  to  receive  complete  rations  at  all  times, 
rations  There  will  be  ...  irregularities  and  reductions  in 
rations.  Not  all  of  the  swiftly  changing  conditions  can  be 
foreseen;  consequently,  occasional  failure  in  the  most  careful 
arrangements  is  unavoidable."  (F.  R.  362.)  Theoretically  the 
Food  min-  minimum  amount  of  food  is  eleven  ounces  a  day, 
in""11  and  the  maximum  time  is  one  week,  for  thus 

sustaining  life  and  vigor;  but  no  such  relation  can  be  faced 
with  equanimity  for  an  active  army.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  in  the  Petersburg  trenches,  during 
the  winter  of  1864-5,  developed  the  minimum  that  an  Ameri- 
can army  ever  endured  for  a  considerable  period  with  no 
appreciable  loss  of  its  combatant  qualities.  But  just  what 
that  limit  was  has  not  been  satisfactorily  determined. 

Although  company  savings  cannot  be  made  and  back  rations 
as  such  are  not  issued  in  the  field,  practical  recognition  is 
Compensa-  made  of  the  physical  waste  that  always  follows 
tory  rations  subsistence  upon  the  haversack  rations  and  fre- 
quently succeeds  prolonged  dependence  upon  the  field  ration. 
When  it  is  necessary  for  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  troops 
who  have  been  required  to  subsist  upon  field  or  haversack 
rations,  the  commanding  officer  may  in  his  discretion  order  the 
issue  in  kind,  within  sixty  days  from  the  last  date  when  they 
were  thus  subsisted,  of  specified  subsistence  stores  whose 
money  value  equals  [does  not  exceed]  the  difference  between 
the  price  of  those  rations  that  were  used  and  the  price  of  the 
same  number  of  garrison  rations  (A.  R.  1218).  This  is  inde- 
pendent of  and  additional  to  the  ration  issues  being  made,  and 


FOOD:   MANAGEMENT  OF   THE  RATION  99 

will  materially  diminish  the  ultimate  strain  following  pro- 
longed subsistence  upon  the  lighter  supplies. 

In  anticipation  of  the  possible  lack  of  all  other  food,  every 
soldier  on  active  campaign  carries,  in  addition  to  the  rations 
specially  required,  an  emergency  ration.  This  is  Emergency 
contained  in  a  sealed  metal  case,  which  may  be  ration 
opened  only  by  an  officer's  order  or  in  extremity.  It  is  not  to 
be  eaten  when  regular  rations  are  obtainable,  excepting  that 
for  purposes  of  instruction  it  may  be  used,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  regular  ration,  on  one  day  in  each  alternate  Forinstruc- 
month  in  the  season  of  practical  instruction,  not  tion 
exceeding  three  days  in  each  year.  The  ration  and  case  weigh 
a  trifle  more  than  one  pound.  The  latest  published  official 
account  of  the  emergency  ration  is :  It  consists  of  three  ounce- 

and-a-half  cakes  of  equal  parts  of  pure  chocolate 

J    *  *v        j  *    Composition 

and  pure  sugar,  and  of  three  four-ounce  cakes  of 

meat  and  wheat.  These  meat-and-wheat  cakes  consist  of 
sixteen  parts  of  specially  prepared  meat-flour,  thirty-two  parts 
of  coarse  wheat  powder,  and  one  of  salt,  all  by  weight,  homo- 
geneously mixed.  With  these,  separately,  are  three-fourths  of 
an  ounce  of  fine  salt  and  fifteen  grains  of  black  pepper.  The 
meat  and  wheat  may  be  eaten  dry,  or  may  first  be  stirred  into 
cold  water;  or  one  cake  may  be  dissolved  in  three  pints  of 
water,  boiled  at  least  five  minutes,  seasoned,  and  taken  as 
soup;  or  one  cake  may  be  boiled  five  minutes  in  one  pint  of 
water,  to  make  a  thick  porridge.  This  may  be  eaten  hot  or 
cold,  or  when  cold  it  may  be  sliced  and  fried  with  any  available 
fat.  This  ration  is  perfectly  adapted  to  its  purpose  of  main- 
taining life  and  energy  for  a  single  day,  but  it  is  not  competent 
as  a  constant  diet.  The  chief  difficulty  in  its  management  is 
the  disciplinary  one  of  preventing  its  misuse  or  loss  by  in- 
appreciative  troops.  This  implies  frequent  inspection.  For 
convenience  of  comparison  the  British  emergency  British 
ration  and  the  German  iron  ration  are  here  noted,  emergency 
The  British  emergency  ration  is  contained  in  a  small  tin 
cylinder  and  consists  of  four  ounces  of  pemmican  and  four 


100  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

of  chocolate  paste.  The  package  weighs  ten  ounces.*  The 
German  iron  ration  contains  nine  ounces  biscuit,  seven 

ounces  preserved  meat  or  six  ounces  bacon,  three 
German  iron 

and  one-half  ounce  preserved  vegetables,  seven- 
eighths  ounces  each  of  coffee  and  salt.  With  its  packing  it 
weighs  one  pound,  ten  ounces,  t 

The  travel  ration  is  issued  to  troops  travelling  otherwise  than 
by  marching,  when  separated  for  short  periods  from  facilities 

_      .  for  cooking.     Ordinarily  such  journeys  would  be 

Travel  ration  i_  ,  • 

by  steam  transportation,  when  water  for  making 

coffee  could  be  obtained  from  the  boiler.  The  travel  ration 
is  ample  for  the  moderate  period  of  its  use  and  the  sedentary 
condition  of  those  who  use  it,  and  as  constituted  it  has  no 
especial  claim  for  hygienic  comment.  Its  components  are: 

TRAVEL  RATION 

Per  Per 

ration.       hundred  rations, 
oz.  Ibs. 

Beef,  corned 12  75 

or      Hash,  corned  beef 12  75 

and  Soft  bread 18  112* 

or      Hard  bread 16  100 

and  Beans,  baked 4  25 

and  Tomatoes,  canned 8  50 

and  Jam 1.4  8f 

and  Coffee,  roasted  and  ground 1.12  7 

and  Sugar 2.4  15 

and  Milk,  evaporated,  unsweetened 5  3 £ 

During  movements  of  concentration,  troops  travelling  by  rail 
or  boat  carry  one  day's  allowance  in  excess,  to  provide  sub- 
sistence on  the  first  day  after  their  arrival. 

The  Filipino  ration,  for  issue  to  the  organized  Philippine 
Scouts,  has  been  arranged  for  their  lighter  physique,  for  the 
Filipino  demands  of  the  climate,  and  for  their  general  habits, 
ration  and  is  in  better  accord  with  the  native  dietary 

than  is  either  the  garrison  or  the  field  ration.     It  appears  well 

*Notter  and  Firth:  Hygiene,  p.  902.  f  Op.  tit.,  p.  994. 


FOOD:   MANAGEMENT  OF   THE  RATION  101 

suited  to  their  needs.  *Any  alteration  should  be  the  addition 
of  one  ounce  of  sugar  and  a  moderate  quantity  of  some  vege- 
table oil.  It  is  as  follows: 

FILIPINO  RATION  Oz 

Beef,  fresh 12* 

or      Bacon 8 

or      Canned  meat 8 

or      Fish,  canned 12 

or      Fish,  fresh 12 

and  Flour 8 

or      Hard  bread 8 

and  Baking  powder,  in  the  field  when  ovens  are  not  avail- 
able  32 

and  Rice 20 

and  Potatoes 8 

or      Onions 8 

and  Sugar 2 

and  Vinegar 08   gill 

and  Salt 64  oz. 

and  Pepper,  black 02 

Troops  on  transports  are  fed  from  the  garrison  rations,  varied 
by  the  substitution  of  other  authorized  subsistence  stores  of 
equal  money  value;  but  no  savings  are  allowed  on    On  trans- 
United  States  transports.     (A.  R.  1222.)  po^8 

Every  prisoner  of  war  is  entitled  to  one  ration  a  day  "  ac- 
cording to  the  station"  (A.  R.  1219),  which  appears  to  mean 
that  he  should  receive  a  field  ration  while  with  his  Prisoners 
captors  in  the  field  and  a  garrison  ration  while  in  a  °*  war 
fixed  camp  or  a  permanent  prison.  This  is  confirmed  by 
F.  S.  R.  731,  which  provides  that,  failing  a  special  agreement 
between  the  belligerents,  "  prisoners  of  war  shall  be  treated  as 
regards  food  ...  on  the  same  footing  as  the  troops  of  the  gov- 
ernment which  has  captured  them."  Literal  compliance  may 
sometimes  work  unintentional  but  serious  harm,  besides  being 
uselessly  expensive.  At  the  commencement  of  every  war  a 
prisoner's  ration  in  two  grades  should  be  formulated:  One  for 
men  in  sedentary  confinement,  and  one  for  those  whose  labor 


102  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

may  be  utilized  (F.  S.  R.  730),  and  it  is  important  that  this 
food  shall  be,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  of  the  same  general  charac- 
ter as  that  to  which  such  prisoners  have  been  accustomed.  It 
is  inexpedient  to  cite  instances  where  this  has  not  been  done. 

The  demand  sometimes  made  for  special  rations  for  both 
the  high  and  the  low  latitudes  usually  depends  upon  failure 
to  distinguish  between  the  food  allowed  and  that  consumed. 
The  ration  is  so  elastic  that,  with  the  additions  assigned  for 
Alaska,  it  is  adaptable  for  all  service.  It  would  be  unwise 
suddenly  to  impose  upon  white  troops  temporarily  stationed 
Tropical  in  the  tropics  a  diet  identical  with  that  of  natives 
ration  of  those  regions,  who  have  become  habituated  to 

their  food  by  the  experience  of  generations.  It  is  probable 
that  the  excessive  use  of  starches  to  the  exclusion  of  flesh  in 
our  extra-continental  possessions  depends  upon  financial  as 
well  as  upon  climatic  considerations.  There  should,  however, 
be  a  general  modification  of  the  consumed  ration  to  correspond 
with  this  rule:  In  tropical  countries  carbohydrates  form  the 
staple;  in  temperate  climates  a  fairly  mixed  dietary  is  the 
most  serviceable;  along  the  arctic  lines  the  hydrocarbons  or 
fats,  the  fuel  foods,  are  required. 

Concentrated  foods,  of  which  the  emergency  ration  is  an 
example,  develop  force  but  do  not  replace  tissue-loss,  nor  do 
Concentrated  they  add  to  the  weight  of  young  men.  Troops 
food  operating  under  their  spur  must  afterward  have 

sleep  and  the  carbohydrates.  This  is  important  and  has  been 
practically  recognized  in  the  provision  for  temporarily  increas- 
ing the  food  supply  in  the  field,  when  necessary  for  the  health 
and  comfort  of  the  men  who  have  been  subsisting  on  a  lighter 
ration.  When  possible  it  would  be  wise  to  make  the  com- 
Compen-  pensatory  issue  before  health  is  appreciably  low- 
sation  ered,  for  it  is  more  economical  to  preserve  energy 

than  to  restore  it.  The  rest  of  sleep  is  potent  to  neutralize 
fatigue,  and  men  returning  from  hard  duty  on  light  food  should 
have  ample  opportunity,  by  special  authority  if  necessary,  for 
abundant  sleeping. 


FOOD:  MANAGEMENT  OF   THE  RATION  103 

The  German  pea-sausage,  formerly  highly  extolled  as  food 
for  marching  troops,  is  probably  over-rated  as  a  constant  diet. 

It  consists  of  pea-flour,  fat  pork,  and  a  little  salt. 

T,  .     .          ,         i     ,         ,  .  jM  •   ••   A  Pea-sausage 

It  is  issued  cooked  and  is  readily  made  into  soup. 

Used   habitually   it   may   induce   flatulence   and   sometimes 
diarrhoea,  and  the  men  generally  tire  of  it  soon.     Parkes  says 

that  a  palatable  meat  biscuit,  that  will  keep  un- 

fr      .  V  i  .        Meat  biscuit 

changed  for  four  months,  may  be  made  by  cooking 

(probably  boiling),  and  then  baking  one  pound  each  of  flour 
and  meat,  a  quarter  pound  of  suet,  a  half  pound  of  potatoes, 
and  a  little  sugar,  onions,  salt,  pepper  and  spices.     The  time 
limit  probably  partly  depends  upon  the  climate.     Pemmican, 
which  consists  of  well-dried  lean  beef,  shredded, 
mixed  with  tallow,  charged  with  currants  or  similar 
fruit,  or  sugar,  and  compressed  into  compact  cakes,  contains 
much  nutriment  in  moderate  bulk  and  keeps  indefinitely.     It 
is  peculiarly  suited  for  arctic  service,  and  is  well  adapted  for 
winter  expeditions  in  Alaska  as  a  substitute  ration. 

Related. to  food  are  substances  designed  to  prolong  strength. 
Among  these  (of  which  alcohol  is  not  one)  are:  The  extract 

of  beef,  so-called.     This  is  a  heart  stimulant  and 

,.  ,.  .     .  ,     .  Beef  extract 

relieves  the  sense  of  fatigue,  instead  oi  acting  as  a 

true  food.  It  might  make  a  minor  emergency  ration  for  special 
occasions,  such  as  picket  duty  and  forced  marches.  It  would 
be  particularly  use  ul  after  battle,  and  if  every  man,  or  a  cer- 
tain proportion  in  a  company,  could  be  led  to  preserve  upon 
his  person  one  package  of  the  extract  there  would  be  an  im- 
mediately available  supply  for  the  wounded.  The  kola  nut 
alone  or  in  combination  relieves  the  sense  of  weari-  Kola  and 
ness  and  brings  into  action  reserve  muscular  power.  coca- 
Coca  (not  cocoa)  leaves  have  a  similar  quality.  Kola  and  coca 
do  not  create  force,  but  they  develop  or  unmask  that  which 
was  latent  or  had  been  shrouded;  and  it  is  demonstrable  that 
under  their  influence  such  continuous  exercise  as  marching 
may  be  maintained  far  beyond  ordinary  limits.  The  con- 
dition thus  developed  resembles  the  physical  exaltation,  with- 


104  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

out  the  mental  aberration,  of  delirium.  The  ordinary  sense  of 
fatigue  is  the  effect  upon  the  nervous  system  of  the  circulation 
within  the  body  of  broken-down  tissues.  Neither  the  kola 
nor  the  coca  can  directly  remove  such  debris  from  the  blood, 
but  they  appear  to  neutralize  the  nervous  impression.  On 
that  account  an  appeal  to  this  expedient  should  be  limited, 
and  be  followed  by  adequate  rest  for  the  elimination  of  the 
fatigue-products.  For  the  same  reason  its  employment  must 
be  strictly  controlled  by  orders  and  its  distribution  be  superin- 
tended by  officers  or  trustworthy  non-commissioned  officers. 
As  the  active  principle  of  coca  is  the  dangerous  narcotic 
cocaine,  the  peril  of  its  indiscriminate  use  is  apparent;  but,  as 
with  gunpowder,  dangerous  agents  may  be  valuable  under 
judicious  control.  There  is  on  the  market  a  reputable  Forced 
March  Tabloid  containing  these  principles,  which  is  worthy  of 
careful  consideration. 

In  the  effort  to  secure  an  adequate  ration  it  is  probable  that 
the  pendulun  of  supply  has  swung  too  far.     The  garrison 
Multi  licit      rati°n   contains   fourteen   staple   and  three  sub- 
of  articles  in   sidiary    items.     There    are    besides    twenty-two 
the  various     principal  and  four  minor  substitutive  articles,  or 
a  total  of  forty-three  kinds  of  food  that  may  be 
drawn  upon,  independently  of  others  purchasable  through  the 
company  fund.     The  weight  of  the  regular  ration  as  found  in 
the  market  would  be  four  and  a  half  pounds,  and 
as  placed  on  the  table  its  minimum  is  three  pounds 
of  solid  food.     Without  question  the  United  States  army  in 
garrison  is  the  most  amply  supplied  with  food  of  any  in  the 
world.     Whether  it  is  the  best  fed,  is  a  question  of  cooking. 
A  possible  result  of  this  bountiful,  not  to  say  prodigal,  ration 
may  be  a  temptation  to  wastefulness  and  an  unreasonable 
dissatisfaction  when  active  service  reduces  the  variety.     The 
field  ration  contains  eight  staple  and  twelve  sub- 
stitutive articles,  besides  four  that  are  minor,  whose 
weight  is  nearly  four  pounds.     Judiciously  cooked  this  is  ample 
even  for  the  strain  of  the  field,  but  in  the  nature  of  the  case  it 


FOOD:  MANAGEMENT  OF  THE  RATION  105 

must  happen  that  the  pound  of  potatoes  frequently,  and  the 
pound  and  a  quarter  of  beef  sometimes,  will  fail.  The  haver- 
sack ration  weighs  practically  two  pounds,  and,  as 
already  noted,  is  quite  adequate  for  short  periods. 
Its  chief  drawback  is  bulk,  not  weight.  Five  pounds  of  hard 
bread  (for  five  days)  is  not  easily  carried  upon  the  person,  but 
even  to  lighten  the  weight  it  would  be  unwise  to  diminish 
the  allowance.  Pack  animals  may  carry  extra  hard  bread 
with  rapidly  moving  columns,  and  impervious  bags  within 
the  haversack  are  desirable  for  bacon,  ground  coffee  and  sugar. 
Food  that  shall  be  fit  and  sufficient  is  the  first  essential  for 
an  army.  More  important  than  clothing  it  is  more  critical, 
except  for  the  moment,  than  ammunition.  The  study  of  the 
Subsistence  department  must  depend  for  its  final  ration 
knowledge  of  the  working  value  of  the  ration  upon  the  company 
officers'  reports.  For  a  long  time  to  come  those  officers, 
neither  necessarily  content  nor  yet  dissatisfied  with  the  com- 
ponents as  received,  should  scrutinize  them,  looking  to  greater 
efficiency  and  the  elimination  of  the  inutile,  and  their  care- 
fully considered  opinions  should  go  as  reports  to  the  General 
Staff.  A  slovenly  report  hurts  the  maker  and  may  deceive 
the  recipient.  It  certainly  does  no  good.  Every  company 
officer's  first  duty  is  to  appreciate  the  ideal  ration  and  above 
all  how  it  should  be  treated  before  it  reaches  the  mess-table. 
Nothing  should  be  beneath  his  care  that  may  add  to  the  real 
comfort  and  efficiency  of  his  men,  but  that  comfort  and 
especially  that  efficiency  are  not  furthered  by  superfluities. 


XV 

FOOD:  THE    MEAT    COMPONENTS   OF   THE   RATION 
AND   THEIR   TREATMENT 

All  parts  of  the  ration  except  bread  are  estimated  raw.   The 
ration  of  beef  weighs  a  pound  and  a  quarter  and  is  sufficient 
when  the  quality  is  good.    There  is  a  waste  of  five 
per  cent,  in  cutting  up  the  carcass,  and  a  fair  pro- 
portion of  bone,  which  is  included  in  the  ration,  is 20  percent. 
Of  this  bone  a  certain  part  may  be  used  in  making  soup,  but 
Loss  in          usually  bone  is  not  regarded  as  a  part  of  the  con- 
serving        sumed  food.     In  cooking,  meat  shrinks  in  varying 
degrees,  a  reasonable  average  of  such  loss  being  25  per  cent, 
of  the  gross  weight.   Steers  are  issued  by  preference,  and  when 
slaughtered  for  food  they  should  be  about  four  years  old,  full 
grown,  and  well  nourished.     The  live  weight  should  be  about 
.  1000  pounds;  but  frequently  smaller  cattle  must 

be  accepted,  especially  in  the  field.  The  weight  is 
best  determined  by  putting  average  specimens  on  the  scales. 
The  average  net  weight  is  60  per  cent,  of  the  live  or  gross 
weight,  and  when  neither  can  be  determined  otherwise  this 
formula  may  be  used  for  the  dressed  carcass : 

C2  X  .08  X  L  X  42  =  W  (net). 

Here  C  represents  the  girth  in  feet  behind  the  shoulder-blades, 
or  the  mean  circumference;  L  is  the  length  in  feet  from  the 
front  of  the  shoulder-blades  to  the  root  of  the  tail;  42  is  the 
weight  in  pounds  of  a  cubic  foot  of  flesh;  and  W  is  the  net 
weight.  The  carcass  is  substantially  a  cylinder,  and  the 
area  of  the  circle  is  obtained  by  multiplying  the  square  of  the 
circumference  by  .07958,  or  practically  .08.  The  content  in 
cubic  feet  then  is  the  product  of  the  section  area  mul- 

106 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION     107 

tiplied  by  the  length,  and  this  multiplied  by  42  gives  the 
weight  in  pounds.  A  variant  of  this  is:  C2  X  5L  -3-  1.5  =  W. 
When  using  this  divide  by  1.425  if  fat,  or  by  1.575  if  very 
lean. 

More  labor  is  involved,  but  the  results  are  better  when 
freshly  killed  beef  of  good  quality  is  issued.  In  temperate 
climates  beef  should  be  killed  twenty-four  to 
thirty-six  hours  before  issue;  in  hot  climates  not 
more  than  eight  or  ten  hours.  Good  beef  should  have  about 
20  per  cent,  bone;  the  fat  should  be  sufficient  but  not  in  excess, 
and  in  color  not  dead  white  but  rather  approaching  a  light 
straw;  and  the  flesh  should  be  firm,  elastic,  and  marbled  with 
little  veins  running  through  it.  From  good  meat  on  a  white 
plate  a  little  reddish  fluid  will  exude  for  several  hours.  This 
is  a  good,  not  a  bad,  sign  as  sometimes  supposed.  The  flesh 
of  young  animals  is  moist  and  pale  and  that  of  signs  of  bad 
older  ones  is  darker,  but  a  deep  purple  indicates  meat 
that  the  animal  has  not  been  slaughtered,  but  has  died  without 
the  blood  draining  off.  Blood  is  objectionable,  not  because  in 
itself  it  is  unwholesome,  but  because  it  decomposes  very 
rapidly.  Besides,  where  the  blood  has  not  escaped  during 
life  it  is  a  sign  of  death  by  disease.  None  of  the  meat  should 
be  livid,  and  the  interior  should  be  of  the  same  color  or  a  little 
paler  than  the  surface.  Softening,  a  sticky  fluid,  or,  above  all, 
pus,  indicates  decomposition.  An  easy  test  of  suspicious  meat 
is  to  pierce  deeply  with  a  long  clean  knife.  This  should  meet 
equal  resistance  at  every  point  and  no  disagreeable  odor  should 
cling  to  it.  If  the  meat  is  softer  in  one  place  than  another, 
putrefaction  is  beginning.  In  recognizable  putrefaction  the 
color  at  first  is  paler  and  later  it  is  greenish,  and  the  odor  is 
offensive.  "In  temperate  climates  the  marrow  of  the  hind 
legs  is  solid  twenty-four  hours  after  killing:  it  is  of  a  light  rosy 
red.  If  it  is  soft,  brownish,  or  with  black  points,  the  animal 
has  been  sick,  or  putrefaction  is  commencing.  The  marrow  of 
the  fore  legs  is  more  diffluent;  something  like  honey,  — of  a 
light  rosy  color."  (Parkes.)  Mutton,  an  alternative  for  beef, 


108  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

is  more  easily  observed  because  of  the  smaller  bulk.     Some- 
times the  sheep  are  so  fat  that  there  should  be  a 

Mutton 

special  clause  in  the  contract  requiring  the  surplus 

to  be  removed  before  acceptance. 

The  issue  of  meat  in  garrison  is  a  matter  of  simple  routine. 
In  the  field  it  is  customary  to  supply  fresh  meat  on  alternate 
Field  days,  if  possible.  If  there  are  sub-bases  stocked 

supply  by  rail  or  water,  supply  from  them  is  also  compara- 

tively simple,  for  in  cool  weather  beef  may  be  distributed  in 
wagons.  In  warm  weather  the  haul  should  not  exceed  two 
hours,  unless  ice  is  available.  When  cattle  are  acquired  from 
the  surrounding  country  they  are  slaughtered  as  required. 
Sometimes  herds  are  driven  with  marching  columns  and  drawn 
upon  as  necessary,  but  such  beef  is  usually  less  satisfactory 
than  that  otherwise  supplied.  Cattle  following  marching 
Tropical  troops  are  ill  fed  and  become  tough  from  constant 
supply  walking.  In  the  tropics  the  native  beef  is  meagre 

in  amount  and  poor  in  quality.  Hence  for  the  Philippines 
frozen  or  refrigerated  beef  is  supplied  from  the  United  States 
or  Australia. 

There  is  an  essential  distinction  between  refrigerated,  or 
chilled,  and  frozen  meat.     When  beef  is  chilled  the  carcass 
cools   naturally,  after   which   the   temperature   is 
gradually  lowered  below  the  freezing  point,  which 
inhibits  bacterial  action  and  consequent  decomposition,  and 
the  meat  is  stored  or  carried  in  refrigerating  chambers  whose 
temperature  is  uniformly  a  little  below  freezing.     Beef  thus 
treated  retains  its  nutritive  qualities  and  is  very  acceptable. 
There  is  a  probable  limit  of  time  after  which  this  meat  deterio- 
rates, but  that  has  not  yet  been  definitely  fixed.     Clearly,  the 
time  of  its  availability  is  considerable.     Frozen 
beef  is  subjected  to  a  constant  temperature  of  from 
20°  to  10°  F.     When  thawed  out,  as  it  must  be  before  any  use 
can  be  made  of  it,  the  nutritive  juices  drip  from  the  sections 
and  the  flesh  becomes  pink  through  the  diffusion  of  the  coloring 
matter  of  the  blood.     But  frozen  mutton  because  unquartered 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION      109 

retains  these  juices.  Frozen  meat  deteriorates  because  it  is 
frozen,  and  it  is  not  particularly  acceptable,  although  it  is 
better  than  no  meat.  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  his- 
tological  changes  occur  in  solidly  frozen  muscular  tissue  even 
after  a  month  and  that  these  are  progressive.  At  least  in 
fowls  many  fibres  are  scarcely  recognizable  at  the  end  of  six 
months.  This  change  probably  occurs,  although  not  so 
rapidly,  also  in  mammals.  The  ration  of  frozen  meat  is  not 
as  nutritious,  weight  for  weight,  as  that  which  is  fresh,  and  the 
loss  in  cooking  is  about  10  per  cent,  more  than  with  fresh  meat. 
Nearly  all  flesh  is  converted  into  food  by  the  action  of  heat 
(the  exception  being  the  dried  or  jerked  meat  of  certain  arid, 
almost  anhydrous,  regions),  and  the  more  usual  _ 

.          ,  10  cook  meat 

processes  are  those  of  roasting,  baking,  boiling, 

stewing,  and  frying.  The  true  cooking  temperature,  except 
for  frying,  should  not  be  above  170°  F.  At  the  outset  greater 
heat  is  required  in  certain  cases.  But  hard  frozen  meat  re- 
quires care  and  time  to  reduce  it  to  the  normal  before  the 
cooking  itself  begins. 

Soup  is  a  form  of  food  economical  of  material,  easy  of  assimi- 
lation, and  when  properly  made  acceptable  to  the  taste  and 
invigorating  to  the  body.  It  is  not  popular 
with  our  soldiers,  chiefly  because  so  often  it  is  ill 
made,  but  partly  from  the  prejudice  that  it  is  not  "solid"  food. 
The  men  have  not  been  used  to  it  at  home.  Good  soup,  not 
greasy  slops,  is  so  valuable  as  food  that  no  pains  should  be 
spared  in  cultivating  the  art  of  making,  and  in  developing  the 
habit  of  taking,  soup  by  the  rank  and  file.  To  make  soup, 
uncooked  meat  in  moderate-sized  pieces,  at  the  rate  of  one 
pound  to  a  quart,  should  be  put  into  cold  water  and  after 
soaking  for  an  hour  be  heated  gradually  and  cooked  slowly. 
This  extracts  the  natural  juices.  Hard  boiling  drives  off  the 
aroma  and  probably  part  of  the  nutritious  matter,  and  if  the 
temperature  has  been  raised  quickly  the  meat  may  be  tough- 
ened. Cracked  bones,  whose  marrow  dissolves  in  the  soup, 
increase  its  strength.  Small  pieces  of  cooked  meat  may  be 


110  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

added  three-quarters  of  an  hour  after  the  soup  is  put  on  the 
fire;  vegetables  except  potatoes  may  be  introduced  one  hour 
and  a  half,  and  potatoes  half  an  hour  before  it  is  finished.  The 
more  fragments  of  cooked  or  uncooked  meat  and  broken  bones 
that  are  added,  the  better.  A  scrupulously  clean  pot,  slow 
cooking,  and  constant  skimming  are  the  essentials  of  soup- 
making.  Soup  stock,  from  which  soup  is  most 
Soup  stock 

conveniently  made  when  it  is  an  habitual  part  of 

the  diet,  is  made  by  putting  lean  meat  in  cold  water,  three 
pounds  to  a  gallon,  and  cooking  slowly  for  several  hours.  The 
fat  is  skimmed  off  and  a  jelly  remains  after  cooling.  This  is 
redissolved  by  heat  and  reboiling,  after  the  addition  of  water. 
Seasoning  is  added  as  required.  The  stock-pot  should  always 
be  kept  up  in  garrison;  and,  although  it  is  rarely  done,  such 
stock  can  be  prepared  in  camp  and  be  carried  on  the  march  so 
as  to  be  immediately  available  when  camp  is  again  made. 

For  boiling,  the  pieces  (of  any  meat)  should  be  as  large  as 
possible  and  be  plunged  into  boiling  water.     The  action  of  the 

heat  coagulates  the  albumen  in  the  exterior  layer 
Boiling  meat 

of  the  meat,  which  thus  retains  the  interior  juices. 

After  five  minutes  the  heat  should  be  reduced  to  160°  F., 
and  it  should  never  be  allowed  to  reach  170°.  Above  170° 
the  flesh  shrinks  and  the  meat  becomes  hard  and  indigest- 
ible. Of  course  the  interior  of  a  large  piece  of  meat  is  cooler 
than  the  surface  and  the  surrounding  water,  and  a  little 
time  is  required  to  raise  it  to  the  proper  temperature,  which 
should  be  about  160°.  If  it  is  much  under  that  it  will  be 
underdone.  But  the  constant  tendency  of  soldier  cooks  is 
to  use  too  much  heat,  and  company  inspecting  officers  should 
make  use  of  the  kitchen  thermometer.  Meat  is  much  more 
effectually  prepared  for  the  table  at  the  lower  temperatures, 
to  which  it  should  be  subjected  for  fifteen  minutes  for  each 
pound  in  weight.  Hence  so-called  boiled  meat  is  not,  or 
should  not  be,  boiled.  Apart  from  the  disadvantage  of  coagu- 
lating the  albumen,  as  already  pointed  out,  it  is  evident,  that 
it  is  entirely  unnecessary  in  any  form  of  cooking  for  the 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION      111 

heat  to  reach  212°  F.,  which  is  the  boiling  point  of  water  at 
the  sea  level  and  is  conventionally  reckoned  the  common 
boiling  point,  when  the  decrease  of  tempera-  BoiUn  oiat 
ture  with  the  increase  of  altitude  is  considered. 
With  the  reduction  of  the  atmospheric  pressure,  water  boils 
at  1°  F.  less  for  every  600  feet,  or  1°  C.  less  for  every  1080 
feet,  of  elevation.  Hence  boiling  water  at  Fort  Logan  or 
Fort  Douglas  is  not  as  hot  as  boiling  water  at  Fort  Monroe, 
but  the  cooking  at  the  two  stations  is  practically  identical. 
It  follows  that  the  sign  of  actually  boiling  is  fallacious. 
Simmering,  as  a  term  to  indicate  a  temperature  less  than 
boiling,  is  delusive.  Water  that  simmers  is  boiling  very 
gently,  and  is  practically  as  hot  as  that  which  boils  with 
vehemence. 

Stewing  is  intermediate  between  boiling  and  soup-making 
and  is  a  valuable  method  of  cooking.  The  meat  in  small 
pieces  and  covered  with  a  little  water  should  be 
kept  at  a  moderate  heat  (134°  F.+)  for  a  couple 
of  hours.  It  should  be  kept  constantly  moistened  in  part 
with  its  own  juices  and  partly  with  fresh  water,  and  vege- 
tables may  be  added.  In  soup-making  all  the  natural  juices 
flow  into  the  surrounding  liquid ;  in  stewing  much  remains  in 
the  meat.  The  sapidity  and  hence  the  acceptability  of  all  food 
depends  in  great  measure  upon  the  skill  of  the  cook,  and  this 
particularly  applies  to  stews.  But,  pleasant  to  the  taste  or 
not,  they  are  very  nutritious,  and,  whether  a  stew  proper  or 
more  nearly  a  soup,  they  supply  warmth,  which  is  generally, 
and  bulk,  which  is  frequently,  desirable,  and  their  prolonged 
cooking  may  be  supposed  to  neutralize  any  bacterial  infection. 
The  Warren's  Cooker  or  fireless  kitchen,  a  modification  of  the 
Norwegian  stove,  illustrates  how  unnecessary  and  Fireless 
indeed  undesirable  is  the  treatment  of  meat  by  kitchen 
high  temperature  and  also  how  fuel  and  range-space  may  be 
economized.  In  its  simplest  form  there  is  a  wooden  box 
thickly  lined  with  felt.  Indeed  it  may  be  extemporized  by 
placing  one  box  within  another  and  tightly  filling  the  inter- 


112  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

mediate  space  with  non-conducting  material,  as  sawdust  or 
powdered  charcoal.  In  the  middle  is  a  stew-pan  with  a  felt 
or  other  non-conducting  lid.  The  contents  to  be  cooked  are 
heated  as  desired,  the  pan  is  placed  in  the  box,  which  is  cov- 
ered and  set  aside.  In  a  few  hours  the  work  is  done  with  no 
need  of  more  fire.  The  chemist's  water-bath,  or  the  cabinet- 
Water  bath  ma^er's  glue-pot,  is  the  type  of  another  excellent 
cooking  apparatus  which  as  a  "  double  kettle  "  may 
well  be  in  all  garrison  kitchens.  A  thermometer  graded  be- 
Thermometer  yonc^  ^12°  ^'  snou^  De  a  part  of  all  company 

kitchen  furniture. 

Roasting,  which  in  fact  is  rarely  done,  requires  a  large  piece 
of  meat  to  be  subjected  for  a  few  minutes  to  intense  heat,  to 
shut  in  the  natural  fluids,  and  then  to  be  treated  to  a  dry 
moderate  heat  and  be  constantly  basted  by  the  melted  fat 
which  exudes.  In  the  field,  roasting  is  effected  by  cutting  the 
meat  into  pieces  one  or  two  inches  square  and  holding  these 
for  a  few  minutes  directly  before  a  hot  fire.  In  the  company 
BaMn  meat  kitchen  baking  is  the  usual  substitute  for,  although 
it  is  sometimes  misnamed,  roasting.  Here  the 
treatment  is  much  the  same,  but  it  is  carried  on  in  a  confined 
oven.  In  each  case  the  loss  is  not  far  from  33  per  cent.,  chiefly 
of  water,  the  proportion  of  the  chemical  elements  remaining 
undisturbed. 

In  frying,  which  is  the  most  common  form  of  military  cook- 
ing, the  heat  is  applied  through  the  medium  of  fat.  Theo- 
retically to  fry  is  to  boil  in  fat,  which  would  be 
excellent  if  it  could  be  carried  out.  But  this  is 
never  done,  because  fat  cannot  boil  under  ordinary  atmos- 
pheric pressure,  although  butyric  acid,  a  fatty  acid  of  butter, 
may  do  so  when  the  latter  is  used.  The  sputtering  which 
gives  the  appearance  of  boiling  depends  on  water  in  the  lard. 
To  fry  properly  the  fat  should  appear  to  boil,  and  that  stage 
is  shown  by  little  jets  of  smoke,  not  steam,  rising  from  the 
surface.  Slowly  heated  fat  evolves  fatty  acids,  generally 
injurious,  which  penetrate  and  envelop  the  particles  of  food 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION     113 

in  grease,  rendering  them  indigestible.  The  gastric  fluids 
cannot  dissolve  this,  for  fat  is  digested  in  the  intestines,  not 
in  the  stomach,  where  it  acts  as  an  irritant.  The  applied 
heat  should  be  as  much  above  212°  F.  as  possible. 

Bacon,  which  contains  much  more  nitrogen  and  carbon  than 
fresh  pork,  is  issued  at  twelve  ounces  to  the  ration,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case  free  of  bone.  It  is  the  exception 
to  the  rule  that  cured  meats  are  less  digestible  than 
fresh;  its  fat  is  more  acceptable  than  that  of  pork;  it  is  easily 
transported;  it  is  well  suited  as  a  naturally  concentrated  food 
to  the  requirements  of  severe  exercise;  and,  taken  altogether, 
it  is  an  excellent  military  food.  Its  disadvantages  are  that  it 
is  not  acceptable  to  those  not  in  rude  physical  health,  nor, 
except  as  an  occasional  diet,  to  most  men  in  hot  climates;  and 
sometimes  it  wastes  under  natural  heat  as  much  as  20-25  per 
cent,  by  weight.  Bacon  that  has  been  slop-fed  and  summer- 
cured  wastes  much  more  rapidly  than  corn-fed  and  winter- 
cured  bacon. 

Bacon  is  best  stored  in  bins  with  bulk  salt  in  alternate  layers. 
Bacon  with  very  deep  layers  of  fat  and  thin  layers  of  lean 
should  only  be  issued  at  northern  stations,  for  it  can  neither  be 
carried  without  waste  nor  cooked  properly  in  the  field,  nor  be 
eaten  with  satisfaction  at  the  south.  The  proportion  of  fat 
is  determined  by  the  weight  of  the  sides.  Those  weighing 
from  twenty-five  to  fifty  pounds  are  preferable.  Where  the 
fat  of  bacon  is  yellow  and  the  taste  is  strong,  the  meat  is  rusty 
or  tainted;  and  when  the  lean  has  brown  or  black  spots,  it  is 
not  good.  But  bacon  from  stag  hogs  or  from  those  fed  on  mast 
may  be  yellowish  and  still  be  good. 

Salt  beef  and  salt  pork  are  no  longer  a  part  of  the  ration 
excepting  that,  when  desired,  they  may  be  issued  in  Alaska 

as  substitutes  at  the  rate  of  twenty-two  and  sixteen 

.  Salt  meats 

ounces  respectively.      In  the  emergency  of  war, 

however,  these  salted  meats,  notwithstanding  they  are  trans- 
ported in  the  field  with  difficulty  and  at  best  are  not  partic- 
ularly acceptable,  may  resume  a  temporary  place  in  the 


114  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

military  dietary.  Meat  is  salted  to  preserve  it,  but  this  is  at 
the  expense  of  the  nutritive  matters,  much  of  which  pass  into 
the  brine,  leaving  only  a  fictitious  value  for  the  solids;  so  that 
salt  beef  is  reckoned  at  two-thirds  the  value  of  fresh  beef, 
and  this  decreases  further  with  age.  Salt  pork  contains 
much  more  nitrogen  than  fresh  pork,  and  under  pressure 
it  probably  would  be  issued  in  a  beleaguered  place  and 
sometimes  in  the  field  at  the  rate  of  twelve  ounces  to  the 
ration.  When  cooked  hard  and  dry  these  salted  meats 
Vin  r  become  tough  and  insipid,  but  vinegar  is  reputed 

to  soften  the  hardened  muscular  fibre.  Parkes 
remarks  that  as  vinegar  is  an  agreeable  condiment,  it  may  be 
important  to  remember  this  in  time  of  war. 

Canned  meat  may  be  issued  in  garrison  when  fresh  meat 
cannot  be  supplied,  or  in  the  field  as  a  substitutive  ration, 
Canned  m  at  ^  ^e  rate  °^  one  pound  per  ration.  This  is 

cooked  lean  beef  in  hermetically  sealed  cans.  It 
may  be  heated,  or  subjected  to  further  cooking,  before  con- 
sumption. Canned  meat  is  presumed  to  contain  no  chemical 
preservative,  and  its  freedom  from  change  depends  upon  the 
destruction  by  heat  of  bacteria  originally  present  and  the  ex- 
clusion by  sealing  of  all  others.  Carelessness  before  sealing 
may  admit  putrefactive  germs.  Any  alteration  in  taste  or  any 
new  odor  is  a  certain  sign  of  retrograde  change.  Large  con- 
tracts, especially  in  war-time,  afford  temptation  and  frequently 
opportunity  for  the  imposition  of  inferior  food  of  all  sorts  upon 
the  army;  but  poor  canned  meats  are  particularly  to  be  guarded 
against,  for  if  they  are  bad  the  troops  will  be  ill-fed  or  will 
become  ill.  Further,  unnecessary  resort  to  canned  meat 
should  be  avoided;  for  experience  shows  that  concentrated 
food,  such  as  these  preserved  meats  whose  bulk  is  compara- 
tively small,  when  persistently  used  are  apt  to  induce  intes- 
tinal disorder,  sometimes  as  constipation,  sometimes  as 
diarrhoea.  Bulk  seems  required  to  excite  the  digestion  and 
to  stimulate  the  absorption  of  nutriment. 

Corned  beef  hash  in  cans  may  be  issued  in  garrison  when 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION      115 

fresh  beef  is  not  available,  and  it  is  substitutive  for  fresh  beef 
in  the  field.  The  issue  is  sixteen  ounces.  Cooked  corned  beef 
has  double  the  "nutritive  value  of  raw  fresh  beef,  Corned  beef 
and  this  issue  as  hash  implies  the  admixture  of  vege-  nash 
tables.  It  is  supplied  in  tins  and,  while  less  liable  than  ordinary 
canned  beef  to  contamination,  precautionary  inspection  should 
be  vigilant.  Good  corned  beef  contains  60  per  cent,  solids,  of 
which  40  per  cent,  are  proteids,  15  per  cent,  fat,  and  5  per  cent, 
salts.  Six  per  cent,  of  the  whole  is  nitrogen.  Beef  is  corned 
by  subjecting  it  to  a  pickle,  and  it  often  happens  that  in  garri- 
son a  company  can  lay  down  a  quantity  of  corned  beef,  which 
makes  an  economical,  wholesome,  and  very  acceptable  variety 
for  the  company  mess.  A  formula  for  the  process  is:  For 
fifty  pounds  of  beef,  take  two  gallons  of  water  and  Method  of 
dissolve  in  it  four  pounds  of  salt,  one  and  a  half  corning 
ounces  of  saltpetre,  and  a  half  ounce  of  salseratus.  Boil  this 
solution  and,  after  skimming  it,  let  it  cool  gradually.  When 
it  is  quite  cold,  put  the  beef  under  a  weight  in  the  brine  and 
leave  it  there  for  eight  or  ten  days,  when  it  will  be  ready  to  use. 
Boiling  is  the  proper  mode  of  cooking  it.  After  the  brine  has 
been  used  four  times,  it  must  be  boiled  again  and  carefully 
skimmed.  This  may  be  repeated  three  times. 

Fish  dried,  pickled,  or  canned  at  fourteen,  eighteen,  or  six- 
teen ounces  respectively,  substitutive  in  garrison,  is  acceptable 
and  nutritious.  Dried  fish  imported  from  New 
England  has  been  a  staple  diet  in  the  West  Indies 
for  many  years  and  it  has  been  used  in  campaign  by  other 
armies.  Hence,  as  it  is  not  difficult  to  transport  wherever  our 
troops  may  serve  and  is  an  excellent  food,  it  might  well  be  a 
substitutive  part  of  our  field  ration.  But  the  composition  of 
fish  is  so  unstable  that  when  canned  its  integrity  is  always  open 
to  suspicion.  Many  tropical  fish  are  poisonous  even  when 
freshly  caught,  so  that  all  fish  from  those  waters  are  only  to  be 
eaten  with  extreme  caution.  The  Filipino  custom  of  exposing 
fish  to  the  sun  to  acquire  a  new  flavor  would  be  hazardous  for 
white  men  to  follow. 


116  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

All  animals  used  for  food  under  normal  conditions  should  be 
sound,  properly  slaughtered,  and  free  from  subsequent  con- 
Damaged  or  tamination,  and  the  flesh  should  be  well  cooked, 
diseased  But  under  stress  it  sometimes  happens  that,  as 
meat  a  choice  of  evils,  this  rule  may  be  suspended. 

Thus  over-driven  beasts  sometimes  develop  a  toxin,  the  appar- 

A  ent  consequence    of   excessive   heat  and  fatigue. 

Over-driving 

Foraging  and  hunting  parties,  as  well  as  cattle- 
guards,  should  be  cautioned  against  such  harassing  exhaus- 
tion of  animals  driven  in  or  accompanying  the  army.  Veal 
Veal  and  and  fresh  pork,  even  when  normal,  sometimes 
fresh  pork  cause  temporary  but  disqualifying  sickness,  but 
this  is  not  common  enough  to  condemn  their  occasional  use. 
Decomposing  meat  should  not  be  used,  notwithstanding  some 
Decaying  savages  eat  it  by  preference  and  without  apparent 
meat  detriment,  and  "high"  game  on  the  tables  of 

epicures  acquires  its  flavor  by  the  taint  of  decay.  Occa- 
sionally lost  explorers  have  thus  been  saved  from  starvation, 
but  it  is  a  desperate  option.  Sausages  and  pies  made  from 
Sausage  and  apparently  wholesome  meat  may  become  poison- 
meat  pie  ous,  probably  by  the  formation  of  a  ptomaine  not 
yet  identified.  The  time  these  articles  are  kept  before  con- 
sumption is  a  probable  agent  in  its  development.  Spices, 
although  disguising  the  taste,  do  not  antagonize  the  action.  In 
warm  weather  hash  prepared  the  night  before  it  is  to  be  eaten 
is  liable  to  induce  colic  and  diarrhoea.  This  results  from 
bacterial  fermentation  probably  set  up  through 
contaminated  vessels.  This  possibility  is  another 
reason  for  constant  and  scrupulous  cleanliness  in  the  company 
kitchen,  for  every  effect  has  a  pre-occurring  cause.  Stale 
mixed  dishes  will  often  act  in  the  same  way  from  incipient 
decomposition. 

Animals  which  have  died,  or  are  suffering  from  mortal  or 
even  from  serious  diseases,  ordinarily  would  be  condemned 
as  a  matter  of  course;  but  meat  from  them  is  not  necessarily 
harmful,  and  in  severe  straits  it  is  better  to  issue  such  than  to 


FOOD:  MEAT  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION     117 

allow  troops  to  starve.      Thus  repeatedly  animals  ill  or  dead 
of  the  cattle  plague  (rinderpest)   and  of  epidemic  Rinderpest 
pleuro-pneumonia  have  been  eaten  without  harm,  and  pleuro- 
and  as  late  as  1871  horses  dead  of  glanders  were  Pneumoma 
consumed  in  large  numbers  during  the  siege  of  Paris.     How 
far  meat  and  milk  from  tuberculous  cattle  are  nee-  Glanderg 
essarily  dangerous  to  man  is  not  definitely  deter- 
mined.    Meat  showing  local  signs  of  tuberculosis  should  not 
be  used,  as  a  matter  of  precaution  as  well  as  of  delicacy;  but 
parts  not  directly  affected  (as  determined  by  scien-  Tuberculosis 
tific  examination)  might  be  passed  in  time  of  need. 
It  is  so  much  safer  to  abstain  from  the  milk  of  tuberculous 
cows,  whether  actually  contaminated  or  not,  that  it  should 
always  be  excluded  from  garrison.     Anthrax,  or 
malignant  pustule,  is  so  desperate  a  disease  for 
man  as  well  as  for  beast,  although  communicated  through  abra- 
sions or  cuts  rather  than  by  the  digestive  organs,  that  it  should 
be  avoided  except  in  the  direst  need,  notwith- 
standing  there  is  considerable  evidence  that  such 
meat  has  been  eaten  with  impunity  after  thorough  cooking. 
To  avoid  infecting  other  animals  the  bodies  of  those  dying  with 
malignant  pustule   (anthrax)   should  be  burned, 
not  buried.    To  charbon,  the  same  disease  in  sheep, 
the  same  rules  apply.     It  is  further  to  be  remembered  that 
although  the  flesh  of  animals  affected  with  disease  has  been 
eaten  without  ill  effects,  it  also  occasionally  hap-          . 
pens  that  persons  are  poisoned  by  the  stronger 
medicines  with  which  such  animals  have  been  treated.     The 
general  rule  to  follow  when  the  flesh  of  diseased  animals  must 
be  used  is:  Carefully  to  drain  away  the  blood;  to  Rules  for  us- 
discard  the  organs,  such  as  the  liver,  the  kidneys  ing  diseased 
and  especially  the  glands;  and  thoroughly  to  cook  animate 
everything  that  is  eaten.     Here  as  elsewhere  heat  is  the  great 
deliverer  from  infection. 

Besides  the  illnesses  just  discussed,  animals  are  subject  to 
two  parasites  which  may  be  transmitted  to  man  through  the 


118  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

mess-table,  one  gravely  annoying  and  the  other  very  serious. 
These  are  the  tapeworm  and  the  trichina.  The  tapeworm 
Parasites  is  the  further  development  of  the  cysticercus,  which 
Tapeworm  embeds  itself  in  the  muscle  of  the  ox  and  the  hog. 
It  then  appears  to  the  naked  eye  as  a  small  round  cyst,  which 
,_  is  known  popularly  as  the  measle;  and  when  these 

are  numerous  the  flesh  crackles  when  being  cut. 
Old  and  musty  pork  is  sometimes  described  as  "measly," 
which  is  an  incorrect  description.    The  live  measle  after  enter- 
ing the  human  intestine  with  the  food  develops  into  tapeworm. 
The  trichina  spiralis  is  a  minute  parasitic  worm 
frequenting  swine,  and  when  swallowed  by  man 
it  multiplies  and  causes  a  very  painful  and  dangerous  disease. 
The  trichince  are  killed  by  the  heat  which  coagulates  albumen 
(160°  +  F.).    But  if  the  interior  of  boiled  or  roasted  pork  shows 
the  color  of  uncooked  meat,  the  albumen  has  not  coagulated 
and   the   parasites   are  unaffected.     Some  recruits   will  eat 
smoked  (unboiled)  ham  by  preference  when  they  can  obtain  it; 
but  common  smoking  will  not  kill  the  parasites.     Hot  smok- 
ing is  fatal  to  them.     Hence  all  doubtful  meat  should  bo 
thoroughly  cooked,  and  the  cooking  be  tested,  to  insure  against 
these  three  common  evils,  tubercle,  tapeworm,  and  trichina. 
Horse-flesh  contains  more  nitrogen  and  less  carbon  and 
hydrogen  than  beef.     It  is  a  palatable  and  stimulating  food, 
and  in  an  emergency  horses  killed  in  action,  or 
not  required  in  the  defence  of  a   closed  place, 
should  be  utilized. 

For  temporary  use  in  an  emergency,  meat  may  be  preserved 
for  some  time  by  heating  very  strongly  the  outside.  This 
Emergency  coagulates  the  albumen  in  the  outer  parts  and 
preservation  hermetically  seals  the  interior.  The  application 
to  the  surface  of  charcoal  or  sugar  is  also  preservative,  and 
black  gunpowder  well  rubbed  in  would  probably  have  a  similar 
effect.  In  rainless  regions  meat  cut  into  long  thin  strips  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  that  is  "jerked,"  whether  beef  or  venison,  is 
a  good  dependence  for  scouting  parties. 


XVI 

FOOD:  THE  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  THE  RATION 

Bread,  the  other  important  part  of  the  ration  with  meat 
(for  practically  meat  and  bread  are  its  essentials),  is  the  only 
part  of  the  soldier's  food  in  which  there  is  no 
necessary  wraste.     Every  particle  of  it  may  be  eaten 
with  advantage,  and  it  is  one  of  the  few  foods  that  never  pall 
upon  the  appetite.    Nevertheless  it  is  not  a  perfect  diet,  being 
deficient  in  fat  and  moderately  so  in  nitrogen;  hence  butter  or 
other  greasy  food  is  eaten  with  it,  as  if  by  instinct.    Gain  of 
In  making  bread  there  is  a  gain  in  weight  of  one-   weight  in 
third  over  that  of  the  flour  used;  hence  eighteen   tread- 
ounces  of  flour  will  yield  twenty-four  ounces  of   ma   ng 
bread,  and  so  in  proportion.     At  the  discretion  of  the  company 
commander  two  ounces  or  less  of  flour  per  ration  may  be  used 
by  the  company  otherwise  than  for  bread.     But  in  garrison 
the  remainder  of  the  flour  must  be  made  into  bread  at  the  post 
bakery.     The  money  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  bread  or 
flour,  that  is  the  difference  in  price  between  the  flour  received 
and  the  bread  issued  (owing  to  the  gain  in  weight  of  bread 

over  flour),  constitutes  the  bakery  fund;  and  after   , 

Bakery  fund 
the  expenses  of  the  bakery  are  paid  from  that  fund 

the  remainder  is  equitably  divided  quarterly  between  the 
organized  units.  The  bread  is  required  to  be  baked  thus  at 
a  central  plant  for  economy  of  administration  and  for  uni- 
formity in  quality.  In  great  camps  for  training  or  distribu- 
tion where  the  commands  fluctuate,  in  camps  of  more  or  less 
permanence  in  the  field,  as  in  winter  quarters,  the  Subsistence 
Subsistence  department  usually  erects  its  own  bakeries 
bakeries,  in  which  case  the  profits,  or  savings,  go  to  that 
department  and  not  to  the  troops.  A  great  camp,  or  even 

119 


120  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

an  army  operating  along  the  line  of  a  railroad,  may  be  sup- 
plied from  a  bakery  at  a  secondary  base,  or  sometimes  from 
one  at  the  general  base.  In  minor  camps  of  any  permanence 
portable  iron  ovens  will  furnish  temporary  bakeries,  and  for 
Travelling  marching  columns  bakery-wagons  in  which  men 
bakeries  can  knead  the  dough,  and  travelling  ovens  to  fol- 
low wherever  guns  can  pass,  are  practicable  and  have  been 
used.  For  brigades  or  less,  not  permanent  camps,  the  baking 
as  well  as  the  cooking  must,  as  a  rule,  be  done  by  the  companies, 
as  explained  later. 

The  standard  ration  of  flour  or  of  soft  bread  is  eighteen 
ounces.  It  is  possible,  under  the  concurrent  authority  of  the 
Weight  of  council  of  administration  and  the  commanding 
bread  ration  officer,  to  increase  the  bread  ration,  not  the  flour 
ration,  at  any  particular  post  to  the  full  extent  of  the  allow- 
ance of  flour  or  to  any  part  thereof.  But  when  the  bread  is 
made  and  issued  by  the  Subsistence  department,  no  increase 
over  the  prescribed  weight  may  be  expected.  It  should  be 
possible  so  to  alter  the  regulation  that,  from  the  subsistence 
bakeries  also,  an  increased  bread  ration  may  be  issued  in 
Hot  and  cold  emergencies.  The  weight  of  bread  is  to  be  taken 
bread  cold,  because  it  becomes  lighter  by  the  evaporation 

of  the  contained  water.  Hence  weight  for  weight  cold  bread, 
which  is  the  standard,  contains  more  nutriment  than  hot 
bread;  and  while  hot  bread  is  not  necessarily  indigestible, 
certainly  is  not  merely  because  it  is  hot,  if  it  should  be  heavy 
that  is  less  likely  to  be  detected  before  it  becomes  cold.  That 
it  may  have  a  proper  proportion  of  crust,  usually  estimated  at 
Qualities  of  30  per  cent.,  the  loaf  should  not  be  too  large;  it 
good  bread  should  be  thoroughly  baked;  the  interior  should 
be  filled  in  all  its  parts  with  minute  cells;  and  the  body  of  the 
loaf  should  be  slightly  elastic,  reacting  from  gentle  pressure. 
When  held  in  the  mouth,  there  should  be  no  recognizable 
acidity. 

Flour,  the  essential  ingredient  of  bread,  is  the  crushed  kernel 
of  wheat  from  which  the  two  outer  husks  have  been  removed. 


FOOD:  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION  121 

It  contains  from  nine  to  fourteen  per  cent  of  nitrogen,  chiefly 
in  the  gluten,  and  from  sixty  to  seventy  parts  car- 
bonaceous matter  as  starch,   dextrin,  and  sugar. 
The  husks  or  bran  contain  about  fifteen  per  cent  nitrogen, 
three  and  five-tenths  fat,  and  five  and  seven-tenths 
salts.     Hence  theoretically  it  is  highly  nutritious, 
but  practically  it  is  not  so  because  of  its  indigestibility.    Whole 

flour,  so  far  as  it  truly  contains  the  bran,  is  of  more    . 

Whole  flour 
than  doubtful  utility  because  of  its  mechanical 

irritation  of  the  digestive  organs.     But  the  whole  flour  as 
advertised  usually  has  little  bran  remaining  in  it.     "Straight" 
flour  is  the  whole  product  of  the  wheat  less  the    straight 
refuse,  with  a  small  percentage  of  the  low  grades.    flour 
A  bushel  of  wheat,  sixty  pounds,  should  yield  about  forty-four 
pounds  of  this  flour.     Although  not  so  attractive  to  the  eye, 
this  moderately  dressed  or  straight  flour  is  the  best  for  issue. 
"High  patent"  flour,  of  which  "family"  flour  is   High  patent 
a  type,  is  a  very  fine,  well-milled  flour  made  from   flour 
selected  wheat.     It  thus  is  higher  in  price  and  is  more  attrac- 
tive in  appearance,  but  it  is  not  as  nutritious  as  "straight" 
flour.     The  roller  process,  by  which  most  flour,  probably  the 
whole  output  of  the  great  mills,  is  made,  does  not  yield  quite 
as  acceptable  a  product  as  the  grinding  by  the  older  buhr- 
stones.    Flour  is  tested  by  touch,  color,  taste,  odor, 
and  elasticity.     Formerly  the  best   quality  was 
recognized  by  absolute  smoothness  and  whiteness;  now  the 
rollers  do  not  yield  an  absolutely  impalpable  powder  but  one 
that  is  slightly  rough,  nor  is  it  as  adhesive  as  that 
made  by  the  older  method.     The  dark  color  of  the 
hard  winter  Turkey  and  Russian  wheat  gives  such  flour  a 
yellowish  tinge;  nevertheless  decided  grittiness  or  excessive 
yellowness  indicates,  as  it  always  has,  commencing 
change.     Specks  show  imperfect  milling  or  very 
low  grade.     Whatever  the  standard,  flour  must  be  of  uniform 
color.     Good  flour  is  slightly  acid  to  test-paper,  but  not  to  the 
taste;  and  recognizable  acidity  indicates  change.     Acid  flour 


122  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

makes  sour  bread,  and  a  disagreeable  taste,  or  a  musty  or  sour 
odor,  indicates  bad  flour.     Boiling  water  poured 
over  a  handful  of  flour  should  evolve  no  other 
odor  than  that  of  freshly  ground  wheat.    Damp  flour  should 
always  be  rejected,  for  it  marks  an  early  stage  of 
decay.     The  gluten  of  the  flour  is  an  important 
nutritive  factor,  and  its  strength  or  elasticity  makes  a  standard 
strength  of    f°r  comparison  between  different  qualities  of  flour, 
gluten  which  inspectors  use  under  the  name  of-  the  dough 

test.  To  use  the  dough  test,  mix  carefully  two  ounces  of  flour, 
with  two  tablespoonfuls  of  water,  and  when  the  flour  is  all 
incorporated  shape  the  mass  into  a  cylinder  If 
inches  in  diameter  by  2J  inches  high  and  stand  it 
on  its  base.  It  is  evidence  of  strength  if  after  thirty  minutes 
it  has  stood  up  well  with  a  hardened  dry  surface.  If  it  falls, 
flattens,  or  runs  over  the  plate  it  is  a  sign  of  weakness,  of 
inferior  milling,  or  of  poor  stock.  Knead  it  again  carefully, 
flatten  it  and  pull  it  out  gently,  not  suddenly,  for  about  five 
inches.  Should  it  rebound  quickly  it  is  evidence  of  superior 
gluten.  Again  knead  it  gently,  flatten  it  out  uniformly  to  the 
size  of  a  plate,  and  then  gently  and  gradually  pull  it  at  the 
edges,  until  it  is  very  thin,  like  extended  rubber.  As  far  as 
this  may  be  done  without  tearing,  it  shows  strength  and 
superior  gluten.  Failure  of  the  dough  test  shows  weak  flour 
from  poor  wheat,  that  is  wheat  which  is  sprouted,  damaged,  or 
old,  or  imperfect  milling  and  defective  gluten.  Flour  from 
Damaged  or  sprouted  wheat  makes  heavy,  dark  bread.  All 
contain!-  flour  deteriorates  with  age,  but  that  made  from 
nated  flour  SOund,  clean  winter  wheat  maintains  its  character 
the  longest.  When  it  begins  to  be  impaired  mites  (acari) 
appear,  and  later  small  beetles  (weevil)  are  present.  A  single 
acarus  or  mite  may  be  found  in  good  flour,  but  its  presence 
Mites  and  is  a  suspicious  sign  that  should  lead  to  frequent 
weevil  inspection.  These  are  most  common  when  the  flour 

is  damp,  and  excepting  when  only  a  solitary  and  accidental 
one  may  be  .discovered,  it  is  a  sign  that  the  flour  is  changing. 


FOOD:  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION          123 

The  weevil  is  a  small  beetle,  more  common  in  the  grain  than  in 
the  flour,  which  may  be  present  and  multiply  in  either.  It  is 
objectionable  in  that  it  consumes  the  flour  and,  besides,  is  an 
undesirable  addition  to  one's  own  diet.  Munson  advises  weak 
fumes  of  sulphur  dioxide  (SO2)  to  purify  a  storehouse  where 
such  vermin  have  acquired  residence.  But  the  gas  will  injure 
exposed  flour.  As  flour  readily  absorbs  odors, 
sacks  of  it  should  never  be  stored  near  vegetables, 
fruits,  spices,  tobacco,  turpentine,  coal-oil,  etc.,  and  they 
should  be  piled  in  tiers  six  inches  apart,  about  nine  feet  high, 
in  a  dry  room.  Flour  in  well-coopered  barrels  is  less  liable  to 
absorb  odors  or  moisture. 

Dough  is  flour  mixed  with  salt  and  water,  and  bread  is  dough 
distended  throughout  its  structure  by  carbon  dioxide  (CO2) 
and  cooked.  When  the  yeast  is  incorporated  with  Making 
the  dough  at  a  moderate  temperature,  fermenta-  bread 
tion,  which  depends  upon  the  growth  or  development  of  the 
yeast,  commences.  This  converts  a  part  of  the  starch  into 
dextrin,  lactic  acid  and  a  little  sugar  are  formed,  and  carbon 
dioxide  gas  (CO2)  is  generated.  The  gas  distends  the  dough 
by  filling  it  with  aeriform  vesicles,  when  it  is  said  to  rise  and 
is  called  the  sponge.  Having  risen  moderately,  the  sponge  is 
thoroughly  kneaded  into  a  homogeneous  whole  and  is  set  aside 
for  the  second  rising.  It  is  the  presence  of  the  gas  which 
separates  the  particles  of  flour  and  makes  the  bread  light. 
After  it  has  well  risen  the  second  time,  the  mass  is  briskly 
heated  but  not  to  excess.  The  heat  coagulates  the  albumen 
of  the  gluten,  which  thus  holds  the  loaf  together;  it  destroys 
the  rawness  of  the  flour,  and  it  fixes  the  changes  already 
begun.  The  uniform  diffusion  of  carbon  dioxide  through  flour 
and  water  and  the  action  thereon  of  heat  are  the  essentials  of 
bread-making.  There  are  three  ways  of  generating  TO  develop 
the  required  carbon  dioxide,  viz. :  (1)  By  the  use  of  c°2 
yeast  or  other  ferment;  (2)  by  means  of  a  baking-powder,  such 
as  sodium  or  ammonium  carbonate  mixed  dry,  added  to 
tartaric,  phosphoric,  or  citric  acid;  (3)  to  force  the  gaseous 


124  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

carbon  dioxide  mechanically  through  the  dough.     Of  these, 
the  third  is  probably  the  best  way,  because  the 
conversion  of  starch  into  dextrin  and  sugar  and 
the  formation  of  lactic  acid  are  limited;  but  it  requires  special 
apparatus,  and  is  rarely  available  in  the  military  service.     A 
Baking-         good  baking-powder  for  extemporaneous  service  is: 
powder          Tartaric  acid,  two  ounces;  sodium  bicarbonate  and 
arrow-root,  each  three  ounces;  all  to  be  well  mixed  and  kept 
perfectly  dry  in  a  wide-mouthed  bottle.     (Yeo.)     (The  arrow- 
root  has  no  chemical  action,  but  tends  to  keep  the  other 
ingredients  from  caking.)     Ordinarily,  however,  a  competent 
commercial  baking-powder  is  issued  when  properly  required  for. 
The  first  method,  that  of  a  ferment,  for  disengaging 
carbon  dioxide  may  be  called  nature's  way,  but  it 
requires  special  skill.     Where  yeast,  the  ordinary  ferment,  is 
not  available,  leaven  may  be  substituted.     Leaven  is  a  lump 
of  fermented  dough  whose  further  action  has  been 
restrained,  laid  aside  from  a  previous  baking;  or 
it  is  such  a  lump  kept  moderately  warm  for  some  time  in  which 
fermentation  has  been  revived  by  the  heat.     This  is  kneaded 
through  fresh  flour  and  water.     Bread  made  with  leaven  is 
liable  to  become  bitter  and  as  a  rule  does  not  keep  very  long, 
but  it  is  well  adapted  to  prompt  consumption.     The  better 
and  common  garrison  method  is  by  using  yeast. 
Ordinarily  twenty  pounds  of  flour  would  require 
from  four  to  six  quarts  of  tepid  water,  one  or  two  warm  mashed 
potatoes,  a  little  less  than  two  ounces  of  salt,  and  a  half  pint 
of  liquid  yeast.     The  fermentation  is  checked  at  the  proper 
point  by  the  skill  of  the  baker. 

Yeast  may  be  indefinitely  perpetuated  by  a  supply  carried 
over  from  an  earlier  stock.  When  liquid  yeast  is  exhausted 
Renewal  of  it  may  be  started  afresh  by  the  commercial  yeast 
yeast  cake,  which  can  be  obtained  in  nearly  all  settled 

regions.  In  that  case  mix  together  four  warm  mashed  boiled 
potatoes  and  one  cup  of  sugar,  then  add  one  pint  of  flour  and, 
slowly,  one  quart  of  boiling  water.  When,  after  having  been 


FOOD:  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION  125 

well  stirred,  the  mixture  is  lukewarm  add  one  yeast  cake 
dissolved  in  warm  water.  A  cupful  of  this  should  be  kept  over 
in  a  glass  or  stone  jar  from  one  baking  to  another,  the  jar  being 
freshly  scalded  each  time.  But  if  there  is  no  form  of  yeast, 
fermentation  may  be  started  by  mixing  a  thin  batter  of  flour 
and  water,  which  should  stand  in  a  warm  place  until  it  is  full 
of  bubbles.  This  ferment  is  only  about  half  the  strength  of 
yeast.  In  the  field  a  zealous  company  cook  will  carry  on  the 
march,  in  a  covered  vessel,  sufficient  yeast  for  his  current  need. 
In  making  bread  a  little  alum,  whose  action  is  not  well 
understood,  is  frequently  used  empirically.  Some  suppose 

that  it  limits  excessive  changes;  others  that  it  aids 

Alum 
in  the  liberation  of  carbon  dioxide.     In  the  small 

quantities  in  which  it  may  be  legitimately  used  alum  is  harm- 
less; but  in  excess,  as  in  some  baking-powders,  it  interferes 
with  digestion.  Alum  is  also  added  sometimes,  to  fermenting 
flour  so  as  to  check  the  fermentation  and  to  enable  the  flour  to 
be  used;  but  this  is  of  very  doubtful  propriety.  Within 
proper  limits,  alum  is  supposed  to  whiten  the  bread.  Bread 
may  be  heavy,  that  is  not  be  sufficiently  dilated  with  the  gas 
and  the  gluten  unduly  adhesive,  from  various  . 

causes;  as  from  bad  yeast  that  ferments  too  rapidly, 
when  it  has  fermented  insufficiently,  or  when  too  great  or  too 
little  heat  is  used.  It  may  be  bitter  from  bitter  yeast,  and  it 
may  become  mouldy  from  an  excess  of  water.  An  efficient 
baker  is  a  skilled  craftsman  to  be  carefully  selected  and 
practically  appreciated;  for  spoiled  batches  of  bread  waste  the 
bakery  fund,  harm  the  men's  digestion,  and  quickly  create 
discontent. 

Occasionally  flour  is  found  that  is  poor  because  the  wheat 
was  poor,  as  when  grown  on  sandy  soil  or  where  lime  is  defi- 
cient. Such  flour  may  rise  well  enough,  but  it 

v  TTTi  ,        Poor  flour 

becomes  heavy  and  sour  on  cooling.     When  the 

flour  itself  is  at  fault  good  bread  may  be  made  from  it  by  using 
lime-water.  Sometimes  acid  flour  must  be  used  under  stress, 
and  this  also  requires  good  lime-water.  For  such  use  the 


126  MILITARY   HYGIENE 

lime-water  must  be  caustic,  made  from  quick-lime  not  from 
air-slaked.  To  prepare  this,  keep  a  barrel  of  water  in  the  bot- 
tom of  which  is  two  ounces  of  quick-lime.  This 
should  be  kept  well  supplied  with  quick-lime  so  that 
it  may  be  active,  and  it  must  be  stirred  up  well  in  time  to  settle 
before  each  demand  is  made  upon  it.  This  use  of  lime  on  a 
large  scale  corrected  the  deficiency  in  great  quantities  of  such 
flour,  in  the  Washington  bakeries  in  the  earlier  days  of  the 
Civil  War.  Bread  made  with  yeast  from  too  old  stock  some- 
times becomes  heavy  and  sour,  also.  Obviously  in  that  case 
it  is  necessary  to  renew  the  yeast.  Bread  sour  from  an 
Sour  and  excess  of  acid  becomes  edible  when  the  acid  is 
stale  bread  volatilized  by  toasting  the  bread  in  thin  slices. 
Stale  bread  cut  into  thick  slices  may  be  freshened  by  toasting, 
while  stale  loaves  soaked  in  water  and  heated  in  an  oven  to 
250  degrees  to  300  degrees  F.  become  fresh.  But  these  must 
Transpor-  be  eaten  within  twenty-four  hours.  For  trans- 
lation of  -portation,  loaves  should  be  laid  on  their  sides  or 
ends  and  not  on  their  bottoms.  The  standard 
army  wagon  carries  1400  eighteen-ounce  rations  of  bread, 
and  with  sideboards  1800. 

Every  company  is  supplied  with  a  field  oven  and  a  range 
\vcll  adapted  for  company  baking  and  cooking.     The  weight 


Company  cost  °^   ^ne  Oven  are  ^ess  tnan  *nose  °f  ^ne 

oven  and  Dutch  ovens  (presently  to  be  mentioned)  of  equal 
range  capacity,  and  it  can  be  carried  wherever  there  is 

moderate  transportation.  But  when  not  in  touch  with  sta- 
tionary bakeries  and  where  formal  field  apparatus  is  not 
available,  there  are  various  devices  for  the  effective  use  of 
flour  by  the  company  or  squad.  The  more  common  of  these 
are  Dutch  ovens,  mess-pans,  frying-pans,  barrel  ovens,  and 
holes  in  the  ground.  The  Dutch  oven  is  a  heavy  flat  iron  pot 

_  .  .  with  short  legs  and  an  iron  top  which  fits  within  a 

Dutch  oven 

high  flange.     It  is  heated  by  coals  beneath  it  and 

heaped  on  the  top.  Several  of  these  may  be  economically 
used  together  in  a  trench  to  avoid  the  waste  of  fuel.  The  con- 


FOOD;  BREAD   COMPONENTS  OF  RATION  127 

ventional  loaf  may  not  be  cooked  in  this  contrivance,  but  a 
circular  flat  cake  of  bread,  substantially  the  same,  is  very  well 
baked  in  it.  It  is  also  suitable  for  other  forms  of  cooking 
when  fuel  is  abundant  and  there  is  transportation,  for  the 
Dutch  oven  is  heavy  and  unwieldy.  To  bake  bread  in  mess- 
pans:  Cut  off  an  inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  of  the  iron  rim  of 
one  pan,  leaving  a  rough  edge;  fill  the  cut  pan  two- 
thirds  with  dough  and  invert  over  it  a  perfect  pan ; 
place  these  in  a  hole  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  deep,  in 
which  a  fire  has  burned  several  hours  and  from  which 
all  the  cinders  but  a  bed  two  or  three  inches  deep  have  been 
removed.  Cover  the  pans  with  hot  cinders  and  then  with 
earth  to  retain  the  heat,  and  let  them  remain  five  or  six 
hours.  The  gases  escape  over  the  rough  edges  of  the  cut 
pan  and  the  bread  will  not  rise  against  the  top.  To  use  a 
frying-pan:  Grease  it  and  set  it  over  embers  until  the  grease 
melts;  put  in  dough,  rolled  a  half  inch  thick,  and  return 
to  the  fire,  shaking  it  so  that  the  dough  may  not  . 
stick;  when  the  lower  crust  forms,  remove  the  bread 
and  set  it  up  on  edge  close  to  the  fire,  turning  it  occasionally. 
One  man  with  six  pans  can  bake  twenty-five  pounds  of  bread 
in  less  than  an  hour.  A  barrel  oven  is  made  by  laying  a  barrel 
(preferably  iron-hooped)  with  one  head  out  on  its 
side  in  a  hollow.  The  bottom  as  it  lies  is  covered 
inside  with  well-puddled  mud  or  clay  to  make  a  floor.  The  top 
and  sides  are  covered  with  wet  clay  six  to  eight  inches  deep, 
and  this  with  dry  earth  for  six  inches,  leaving  at  the  further 
end  a  three-inch  opening  through  the  casing  for  a  flue.  Burn 
out  the  staves  by  a  fire  made  within  the  barrel,  when  there 
should  remain  an  efficient  oven  to  be  heated  in  the  usual  man- 
ner. When  the  embers  are  drawn  and  the  bread  is  put  in,  the 
flue  must  be  covered  and  the  front  closed  to  retain  the  heat. 
If  the  barrel  can  be  put  into  a  bank  it  would  be  better  than 
building  up  the  oven  in  the  open.  Where  barrels  are  not  avail- 
able, the  face  of  an  earthen  bank  may  be  cut  perpendicularly, 
or  a  pit  may  be  dug  and  one  side  be  used  as  an  artificial  bank. 


128  MILITARY   HYGIENE 

Into  this  may  be  made  a  tunnel  not  to  exceed  five  feet  long, 
half  as  wide,  and  one-fourth  as  high.  The  entrance  should 
Bank  ^e  ^P*  ^ow  an(*  no^  wider  than  to  admit  a  bake- 

pan,  or  it  may  be  filled  in  to  that  extent.  It  is 
better  to  arch  the  interior,  and  it  is  necessary  to  pierce  the  roof 
at  the  further  end  for  a  chimney,  using  lengths  of  stove-pipe  if 
convenient.  The  chimney  is  the  most  difficult  to  adjust.  It 
should  be  heated  in  the  usual  way,  and  the  entrance  and  the 
flue  are  to  be  closed  while  baking  goes  on.  (Munson.)  The 
simplest  of  camp  methods  is  to  fill  with  a  fire  a  small  hole  in  the 
ground,  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  stone,  renewing  the  wood 

,  v  i  •       until  there  are  plenty  of  embers.     When  the  fuel 
Hole-baking 

is  consumed,  place  on  the  stone  a  mixture  of  flour, 

salt,  and  water,  cover  this  with  a  tin  plate  and  surround  it 
with  hot  ashes.  If  the  heat  exceeds  212°  F.  the  bread  will 
toughen.  This  mode  of  baking  closely  resembles  that  for  hoe 
cake  or  Johnny  cake,  where  corn  meal  replaces  flour. 

When  soft  bread  or  flour  cannot  be  supplied,  hard  bread  at 
the  rate  of  one  pound  a  day  is  supplied.  This  is  unfermented 
dough,  with  little  or  no  salt,  thoroughly  baked  in 
thin  cakes,  usually  rectangular.  It  is  the  equiva- 
lent of  ship  biscuit  or  pilot  bread.  Bulk  for  bulk  it  is  more 
nutritious  than  soft  bread  on  account  of  the  water  having  been 
driven  off;  but  like  soft  bread  it  is  deficient  in  fat  which, 
when  practicable,  is  instinctively  added  by  the  men,  who  do 
not  thrive  on  hard,  bread  as  a  continuous  diet.  It  is  most 
economically  issued  in  very  small  squares  contained  in  stiff, 
flat,  one-pound  cartons,  which  should  always  be  used  in  the 
field.  There  is  then  no  waste,  as  occurs  with  the  large  biscuits, 
which  crumble  when  carried  loose  in  the  haversack. 

Corn  meal  is  a  substitute  for  flour  in  garrison,  at  the  rate  of  a 
pound  and  a  quarter  a  ration.     It  is  not  capable  of  being  baked 

into  loaves,  but  would  be  made  into  pone  or  corn 
Corn  m6al 

bread,  or  occasionally  into  mush,  by  the  company 

cooks.  Corn  meal  is  very  nutritious,  containing  as  much 
nitrogen  and  four  times  as  much  fat  as  flour.  The  best  is  from 


FOOD:  BREAD  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION  129 

white  corn,  water-ground  (by  buhr-stones)  and  reasonably 
coarse,  and  should  represent  selected,  kiln-dried  maize  and  be 
well  bolted.  As  it  is  bulkier  than  flour  and  cannot  be  made 
into  biscuit  it  is  unfit  for  field  use.  It  does  not  keep  well  in 
store,  being  apt  to  become  sour  when  in  mass  and  therefore  it 
is  not  useful  as  a  reserve  stock.  When  not  thoroughly  cooked 
corn  meal  is  liable  to  disagree  even  with  those  accustomed  to 
it,  and  those  not  accustomed  to  it  are  apt  to  find  it  so  distaste- 
ful as  almost  to  require  a  special  education  before  accepting  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  men  who  have  always  eaten  corn,  to  the 
practical  exclusion  of  wheat,  sometimes  are  sickened  by  the 
continuous  use  of  flour.  The  practical  lesson  is  that,  where 
there  is  any  possible  choice,  newly  raised  troops  should  receive 
their  accustomed  diet  in  this  particular,  so  that  southern  regi- 
ments should  not  be  limited  to  wheat  bread  nor  those  from  the 
north  be  fed  with  corn  meal  if  it  is  unacceptable.  The  emer- 
gency, or  special,  use  of  dried  or  parched  corn  in  the  grain  has 
a  different  bearing. 


XVII 

FOOD:   THE   VEGETABLE   COMPONENTS   OF  THE 
RATION   AND   THEIR   MANAGEMENT 

Beans,  issued  at  two  and  four-tenths  ounces  per  ration  (fif- 
teen pounds  to  the  hundred),  contain  several  times  as  much 
nitrogen  as  bread,  which  they  admirably  supple- 
ment; for  their  richness  in  nitrogen  makes  them  a 
partial  substitute  for  meat.     They  are  both  valuable  and  sa- 
vory when  well  cooked,  and  form  an  almost  daily  dish  in  garri- 
son and  a  frequent  one  in  the  field,  as  soup,  or  boiled,  or  baked. 
But  unless  they  are  well  cooked  they  are  indigestible,  and 
therefore  are  not  assimilated  and  are  harmful.     Beans  require 
to  be  soaked  in  soft  water  for  twelve  hours  and  then  to  be 

boiled  until  they  are  tender,  which  will  require  two 
To  boil  beans  J 

or  three  hours  more.     Old  beans  can  be  softened 

by  no  amount  of  boiling.     They  must  be  soaked  for  twenty- 
four  hours  and  then  be   crushed  and  stewed.     Hard  water 
is  unsuitable  to  use  with  beans,  as  the  mineral  salts  render 
Beans  and     the  legumen  insoluble.     When  lime-water  must  be 
hard  water    used  in  cooking  beans  a  certain  part  of  the  hard- 
ness may  be  removed  by  boiling,  which  precipitates  a  part  of 
the  lime  so  that  if  the  supernatant  water  is  carefully  poured 
off  it  may  be  used.     (Pease,  formerly  issued  as  a  substitute  in 
garrison,  have  been  withdrawn.     They  are  of  sub- 
stantially equal  value  in  nitrogen,  but  the  men 
care  for  them  only  in  soup.)     Rice,  at  one  and  six-tenths 
ounces  per  ration  (ten  pounds  to  the  hundred),  is  a  substitute 
in  both  garrison  and  the  field.     The  principal  food 
of   great   numbers  of   Orientals,   as  seen  in  our 
markets  it  is  said  to  have  the  greater  part  of  its  proteids  re- 
moved by  the  polishing  it  has  undergone  for  the  sake  of  appear- 

130 


FOOD:   VEGETABLE  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION       131 

ance,  and  nearly  pure  starch  remains.  Properly  cooked,  so 
that  the  grains  lie  detached,  rice  is  very  palatable  when  eaten 
with  salt  and  some  form  of  fat;  and  as  its  starch  is  extremely 
digestible  it  should  be  a  valuable  supplementary  food.  But 
boiled  into  a  sticky  paste,  as  is  usually  the  case  in  company 
kitchens,  it  is  detestable.  To  cook  rice,  sprinkle  it  into  a 
vessel  of  salted  boiling  water  so  slowly  that  it  will  not 

stop  the  boiling,  and  let  it  cook  uncovered  fifteen 

To  cook  rice 
or  twenty  minutes.     It  is  done  when  the  grains 

pressed  between  the  fingers  are  soft.  Then  drain  off  all  the 
water,  sprinkle  it  slightly  with  salt,  and  set  it  uncovered  in  an 
open  oven,  or  on  the  back  of  the  range,  to  dry.  The  water 
must  boil  violently  all  the  time  so  that  the  grains  are  kept 
separated,  and  the  rice  must  not  be  stirred  nor  cooled  while 
cooking.  This  is  imperative.  There  should  be  a  large  pro- 
portion of  water  and  a  good  deal  of  salt.  Prepared  in  this  way 
and  eaten  with  gravy  or  other  fat,  rice  is  very  acceptable,  and 
pains  should  be  taken  to  have  the  cooks  learn  and  follow  the 
proper  method.  Hominy,  the  hulled  and  coarsely  broken 

grains  of  Indian  corn,  is  a  substitute  for  beans  in 

Hominy 

garrison  in  the  same  weight  as  rice  (two  and  six- 
tenths  ounces  per  ration).  Samp,  sometimes  called  large 
hominy,  has  all  the  qualities  of  corn  meal  as  a  food,  but  is 
served  as  a  vegetable.  Samp  requires  soaking  in  water  over- 
night before  cooking.  Properly  prepared  it  is  delicious  and 
is  fattening. 

The  law  so  far  modifies  the  ration,  which  is  established  by 
the  orders  of  the  War  Department  and  not  by  enactment,  as  to 
require  one  pound  of  fresh  vegetables  to  be  added  Fresh  vege- 
to  it  in  garrison  and  in  the  field.  No  savings  of  tables 
fresh  vegetables  may  be  purchased  by  the  Subsistence  de- 
partment. Of  these  potatoes  are  taken  as  the  standard,  and 
a  pound  and  a  quarter  are  to  be  issued  in  garrison  (in  Alaska  a 
pound  and  a  half)  and  in  the  field  one  pound  per  ration.  The 
substitution  of  canned  potatoes  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  ounces  in 
garrison,  twelve  in  the  field,  and  eighteen  in  Alaska  is  permis- 


132  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

sible,  but  should  not  be  made  when  the  fresh  vegetable  is 
available.  For  the  somewhat  complicated  conditions  under 
which  onions,  canned  tomatoes,  or  other  fresh  vegetables 
may  be  substituted,  reference  must  be  made  to  the  table. 
The  average  potato  contains  154  parts  of  digest- 
ible starch  in  the  thousand,  useful  to  build  tis- 
sue but  not  to  generate  force;  a  trifle  of  proteids,  thirteen 
to  the  thousand;  practically  no  fat;  some  vegetable  acids, 
in  combination  as  salts  with  potash,  lime  and  soda;  the 
rest  is  water.  Because  poverty  made  the  potato  the  na- 
tional diet  in  Ireland  and  famine  followed  the  failure  of  the 
crop,  it  has  been  erroneously  looked  on  as  a  complete 
food.  On  the  contrary,  a  man  must  consume  fifteen  and 
one-half  pounds  of  potatoes  daily  in  the  effort  to  live  on  them 
alone,  and  as  a  constant  diet  this  involves  impossible  assimila- 
tion. In  reasonable  amounts  the  potato  is  useful  to  supply 
starch,  but  not  more  so  than  rice,  which  contains  also  from 
3  to  7.5  per  cent,  nitrogeneous  matter;  it  furnishes  a  certain 
bulk,  which  is  an  aid  to  digestion;  and  it  has  a  high  sanitary 
importance  through  its  salts,  whose  antiscorbutic  quality 
constitutes  its  real  dietary  value,  especially  in  the  absence  of 
other  vegetables.  But  it  is  bulky,  difficult  to  keep  from  deteri- 
oration, and  ill  adapted  for  transportation,  especially  in  the 
field.  Much  of  the  practical  value  of  the  potato  depends 
To  cook  upon  its  treatment  in  the  kitchen.  For  the  corn- 
potatoes  pany  mess  potatoes  should  be  either  boiled  or 
baked,  in  each  case  preferably  with  the  skins  on  to  avoid  the 
loss  of  the  salts.  When  boiled,  if  old  and  withered  they  should 
be  put  into  cold  water,  but  if  fresh  and  firm  into  boiling  water. 
To  pour  many  potatoes  at  once  into  boiling  water  will  stop 
its  boiling  for  the  time,  which  is  undesirable.  They 
should  be  of  nearly  uniform  size  to  secure  equality 
of  cooking;  or,  if  they  cannot  be  selected,  the  smaller  ones 
should  be  introduced  when  the  others  are  partly  done.  If 
the  skins  have  been  taken  off  before  boiling,  which  is  not 
well,  the  water  should  be  well  salted  to  resist  the  outward 


FOOD:   VEGETABLE  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION      133 

flow  of  the  vegetable  salts,  unless  the  water  in  which  they 
are  boiled  is  to  be  served  as  would  be  the  case  with  an  Irish 
stew.     Then  it  would  be  immaterial.     It  is  always  better  to 
use  some  salt  in  the  water,  whether  the  potatoes  are  peeled 
or  not.     A  medium  potato  requires  slow  boiling  for  about 
thirty  minutes.     Cooked    rapidly,   especially    when    already 
peeled,  they  absorb  water  and  become  soggy,   which  also 
happens   when   boiled  too   long.     Boiled  insufficiently  they 
are  lumpy  and  indigestible.     When  mashed,  they  should  be 
mashed  thoroughly  and  uniformly,  and  this  should  be  done 
while  they  are  still  hot.     Lumpy  mashed  potatoes 
are  as  disagreeable  in  the  company  mess  as  on  an 
officer's  table,  and  as  unnecessary.     Baked  potatoes  should 
be  cooked  in  the  oven  or,  on  the  march,  in  hot  ashes,  until 
soft  as  determined  by  pressure,  not  by  sticking  a 
fork  into  them.    For  the  potatoes  to  be  well  cooked, 
not  merely  to  be  cooked,  should  be  a  matter  of  pride,  evidence 
of  superiority.    In  this,  as  in  other  points  of  domestic  economy, 
the  intelligent  criticism  and  encouragement,  not    Teaching 
the  indiscreet  interference,  of  the  company  officers    cooking 
can  accomplish  a  great  deal.     When  the  art  of  cooking  is  once 
acquired  in  a  company  kitchen,  every  man  of  the  organization 
should  learn  it  practically.     The  militia  should  be  taught  in 
squads,  eating  what  they  prepare  in  requital  or  retribution 
as  the  case  may  be.     Onions,  a  partial  substitute  for  the 
potato  ration,  are  always  acceptable  in  the  field 

OuiODS 

and  usually  in  garrison,  whether  boiled,  fried,  or 
raw.  Besides  being  grateful  to  the  taste  of  most  persons 
engaged  in  outdoor  life,  there  is  frequently  a  marked  crav- 
ing for  this  vegetable,  which  has  a  wide  and  well-deserved 
reputation  as  an  antiscorbutic.  It  contains  the  acetic,  citric, 
and  phosphoric  radicals  combined  with  lime,  potash,  soda,  and 
magnesia,  and  it  holds  a  stimulant  volatile  oil  which  is  driven 
off  by  heat.  As  is  true  for  other  vegetables,  the  onion  is  more 
efficient  as  an  antiscorbutic  when  raw  than  when  cooked,  and 
fortunately  it  is  very  acceptable  thus.  Like  potatoes,  onions 


134  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

suffer  from  the  frost  in  severe  weather,  so  that  their  storage 
requires  much  care.  They  may  be  issued  in  garrison  as  a 
substitute  for  an  equal  weight  of  potatoes,  not  exceeding 
20  per  cent,  of  the  whole;  and  in  the  field  only  when  procured 
locally,  the  difficulty  of  transportation  being  prohibitive.  The 
equivalent  of  20  per  cent,  of  the  potato  ration  may 
also  be  issued  in  canned  tomatoes,  in  either  garrison 
or  the  field.  The  tomato  is  excessively  watery,  some  speci- 
mens as  canned  containing  97.6  per  cent,  fluid,  and  on  that 
account  it  fills  a  small  place  as  nutriment.  But  raw  or  cooked, 
tomatoes  satisfy  an  instinctive  desire  for  a  vegetable  acid, 
which  grows  stronger  as  other  vegetables  become  scarcer.  The 
probable  explanation  is  that  it  contains  three-tenths  of  one 
per  cent,  of  free  malic  acid,  and  about  as  much  more  combined 
with  bases.  Owing  to  this  the  tomato  ranks  with,  or,  in  the 
opinion  of  some,  higher  than,  the  potato  as  an  antiscorbutic. 
The  substantial  reduction  of  the  fluid  without  lessening  the 
malic  acid  should  be  an  interesting  problem  in  dietetics,  for, 
when  solved,  the  canned  tomato  might  be  even  more  freely 
issued  at  a  very  low  cost  when  really  fresh  vegetables  are  diffi- 
cult to  obtain.  When  other  fresh,  not  canned,  vegetables  can 
Other  fresh  be  obtained  near  by  or  be  transported  in  good  con- 
vegetables  dition  from  a  distance,  they  may  be  issued  in 
garrison  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity  of  potatoes  but  not  to 
exceed  30  per  cent,  of  the  allowance  of  potatoes.  That  this  is 
not  permissible  in  the  field,  depends  upon  administrative 
difficulties.  Fresh  vegetables  frequently  are  most  desirable 
there,  and  military  ingenuity  should  open  an  equitable  way  by 
which  commanders  of  units  could  procure  them  for  their  men; 
but  it  would  be  impracticable  for  a  department  to  furnish  a 
variety  of  vegetables  on  a  summer  campaign,  and  in  winter 
camps  the  best  for  the  purpose  are  already  provided.  It  is 
Prunes,  ap-  to  be  remembered  that  all  vegetables  at  all  edible 
pies,  peaches  have  a  sanitary  value  by  virtue  of  their  con- 
tained salts,  however  trifling  their  energy-making  or  tissue- 
building  qualities.  Prunes,  with  dried  or  evaporated  apples 


FOOD:   VEGETABLE  COMPONENTS  OF  RATION      135 

or  peaches  as  substitutes,  all  at  the  rate  of  1.28  ounces  per 
ration  (8  pounds  to  the  hundred),  are  issued  in  garrison. 
Their  effect  is  more  toward  furnishing  those  influences  which 
aid  digestion  than  directly  to  increase  strength  or  bulk.  When 
possible  30  per  cent,  of  the  whole  must  be  prunes.  None- of 
these  are  supplied  in  the  field,  although  prunes  may  be  trans- 
ported without  special  difficulty.  Jam  may  be  supplied  in 
garrison  in  lieu  of  an  equal  quantity  of  prunes, 
but  not  in  excess  of  50  per  cent,  of  the  whole  issue, 
the  30  per  cent,  of  prunes  always  being  required  when  avail- 
able. The  constant  object  is  to  insure  the  direct  influence  of 
this  preserved  fruit  upon  health.  Jam,  which  is  a  combina- 
tion of  three  parts  of  sugar  to  four  of  fruits,  is  a  fixed  com- 
ponent of  the  field  ration,  with  no  substitute,  at  1.4  ounces 
(8J  pounds  to  the  hundred).  The  value  of  the  sugar  will  be 
taken  up  later. 

In  addition  to  their  special  value  as  antiscorbutics,  sound 
fresh  vegetables  are  always  desirable  for  their  own  sake  as 
food,  as  affording  variety  to  the  table,  as  giving    Vegetables 
zest  to  the  appetite,  arid  as  a  probable  aid  to    &  general 
digestion  and  to  the  assimilation  of  other  food.     Besides  the 
waste  in  preparation,  which  varies  with  the  article,  there  is  an 
average  shrinkage  of  10  per  cent,  in  cooking  vege-    shrinkage 
tables.    In  tropical  countries  and  at  special  stations    in  cooking 
unusual  precautions,  to  be  noted  later,  must  be  observed  in 
handling  all  vegetable  products  that  are  eaten  raw  and  with 
some  that  are  not. 


XVIII 

FOOD:    THE   SMALL    PARTS    OF   THE    RATION 

For  convenience,  coffee  and  tea,  the  official  artificial  bev- 
erages of  the  troops,  will  be  discussed  together  and  water  will 
be  taken  up  later. 

The  ration  of  coffee,  roasted  and  ground,  both  in  garrison 
and  in  the  field,  is  1.12  ounces  (7  pounds  to  the  hundred)  and 
Coffee  and  that  of  tea,  which  is  substitutive,  is  .32  ounce 
tea  (2  pounds  to  the  hundred).  In  garrison  coffee 

roasted,  but  not  ground,  may  be  issued  at  the  same  rate,  or 
green  at  1.4  ounces  (8f  pounds  to  the  hundred).  Coffee  is  best 
made  by  the  ground  roasted  berry  being  boiled  for  one  or  two 
Coffee  minutes  and  standing  in  infusion  for  five  minutes, 

making  Jn  soldiers'  hands  the  ground  coffee  and  the  water 
are  thoroughly  boiled  together  for  a  considerable  time.  This 
dissipates  much  of  the  aroma  and  perhaps  drives  off  part  of 
the  active  principle,  but  when  sufficiently  prolonged  it  has  the 
sanitary  advantage,  which  in  the  field  is  inestimable,  of  insur- 
ing immunity  from  bacterial  infection  through  the  water. 
The  more  freshly  and  more  finely  ground  the  berry,  the  more 
fragrant  and  probably  the  more  efficient  the  beverage;  but  in 
garrison  sometimes  the  grounds  are  used  the  second  time  and 
sometimes  chicory  and  coffee  ''extracts,"  harmless  adulter- 
ants, are  added.  These  please  an  uncultivated  taste  and  save 
money  for  the  company  fund.  They  should  not  be  allowed 
in  the  field,  where  it  is  important  to  secure  the  entire  physio- 
logical effect  of  the  coffee.  In  campaign  the  men  must  make 
their  coffee  in  individual  tin  cups,  and  the  roasted  and  ground 
berry  is  liable  to  loss  and  damage  while  carried  upon  the  person. 

Coffee  is  a  gentle  nervous  stimulant,  practically  without 
reaction,  useful  in  winter  by  the  warmth  it  yields  and  in  sum- 

136 


FOOD:  SMALL  PARTS  OF  RATION  137 

mer  as  it  replaces  perspiration.  It  accelerates  and  at  first 
strengthens  the  heart's  action  and  the  respiration,  and  it  prob- 
ably increases  instead  of,  as  has  been  supposed,  Physiologi- 
retarding  tissue  change.  Its  especial  value  lies  in  cal  effects 
the  resistance  it  offers  to  the  effects  of  fatigue  and  cold, 
increased  by  the  volume  of  hot  water  in  which  it  is  usually 
taken.  In  this,  both  immediately  and  permanently,  it  far 
exceeds  any  good  to  be  derived  from  alcohol.  The  abuse  of 
coffee,  leading  to  extreme  nervous  irritability,  is  a  very  remote 
contingency  with  troops,  by  whom  it  is  rarely  taken  strong 
enough  for  such  an  effect  and  whose  physical  exercise  may  be 
trusted  to  counteract  that  miscnief.  To  be  deprived  of  his 
coffee  is  always  one  of  the  most  serious  misfortunes  for  an 
American  soldier. 

Tea,  the  substitutive  ration,  has  practically  the  same  physi- 
ological effect  as  coffee,  but  its  advocates  hold  that  this  is 
displayed  more  pleasantly  and  more  persistently. 
It  has  an  advantage  in  being  less  in  bulk  and  lighter 
in  weight,  although  if  it  comes  into  common  use  the  size  of  the 
ration  should  be  nearly  trebled.  Notwithstanding  its  attrac- 
tiveness when  properly  made,  tea  has  never  been  popular  with 
the  mass  of  American  men  (although  those  working  in  the 
lumber  camps  make  great  use  of  it),  a  practical  point  to  be 
considered  when  a  volunteer  army  is  raised.  Moreover,  de- 
pendence upon  milk  for  use  with  tea,  which  is  common 
although  really  superfluous  and  incompatible,  would  compli- 
cate the  question  of  supply,  as  sugar,  which  also  would  be 
demanded,  already  does  with  coffee.  Properly  made  tea  is 
an  infusion  of  the  dried  leaves  in  water  that  has  been  freshly 
boiled.  The  vessel  in  which  the  infusion  is  made 
should  be  well  scalded  before  the  leaves  are  put  in. 
The  process  requires  only  a  few  minutes  and  then  the  tea  is 
ready  for  use  and  would  better  be  poured  into  another  heated 
vessel.  But  water  that  contains  lime  or  iron  requires  to  b'e 
boiled  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  with  a  little  sodium  car- 
bonate before  pouring  on  the  leaves.  Ignorant  people  are  apt 


138  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

to  boil,  or  stew,  the  leaves,  and  those  with  vitiated  or  unde- 
veloped taste  to  sophisticate  it  with  a  deluge  of  milk.  Neither 
is  legitimate.  When  drawn  too  long,  as  a  false  economy 
sometimes  attempts  to  extract  the  utmost  strength,  repulsive 
bitterness  is  developed.  Leaves  once  drawn  should  not  be 
used  a  second  time.  Tea  is  best  drawn  in  scrupulously  clean 
earthenware,  a  material  not  adapted  for  the  field 
and  whose  vessels  are  seldom  capacious  enough  for 
garrison  use.  If  the  vessel  is  tin  there  must  be  no  exposed 
iron,  or  the  taste  will  be  disagreeably  astringent.  On  cam- 
paign every  man  makes  his  tea  individually,  for  which  the  ideal 
cup,  now  tin,  would  be  aluminum.  When  tea  leaves  are  car- 
ried upon  the  person,  they  should  have  a  water-proof  covering, 

and  the  most  convenient  method  is  in  a  s'rjng  flat 
Care  of  tea  . 

glass  vial  securely  corked.  Some  experienced  sol- 
diers habitually  carry  a  private  emergency  supply  in  that 
manner.  When  long  exposed  to  the  air,  especially  to  a  damp 
atmosphere,  tea  may  become  air-drawn.  There  are  two 
classes  of  tea,  black  and  green,  derived  from  the  same  plants, 
Black  and  whose  differential  characteristics  depend  upon  the 
green  tea  action  of  dry  heat.  Of  these,  the  black  is  the  more 
wholesome.  There  are  also  many  grades  of  tea,  discrimination 
between  which  requires  an  expert  and  in  whose  delivery  im- 
position seems  easy.  The  tannin  of  the  leaf,  objectionable 
when  excessive,  assists  in  clarifying  some  unacceptable  water; 
and,  as  in  coffee  making,  to  boil  the  water  sterilizes  it.  It  is  to 

this  sterilization  of  their  water-supply,  by  its  con- 
sterilization  .  • fv  J 

version  into  tea  as  the  habitual  beverage,  that 

some  observers  attribute  the  remarkable  exemption  from 
typhoid  fever  of  the  contending  armies  in  Manchuria  in 
1904.  There  is  much  testimony  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
as  to  its  value  in  the  field,  and  it  is  contended  by  those  who 
have  used  both  tea  and  coffee  under  prolonged  strain,  that  tea 
sustains  the  physical  and  mental  power  far  longer  and  more 
effectually  than  coffee  and  without  appreciable  reaction.  A 
peculiar  and  positive  advantage  of  tea  is  that  it  is  palatable 


FOOD:  SMALL  PARTS  OF  RATION  139 

even  when  highly  diluted  and  when  it  is  cold,  which  is  not  the 
case  with  coffee,  so  that  under  all  circumstances  it  is  an  accept- 
able beverage  in  the  field. 

Sugar  is  a  part  of  the  ration,  both  garrison  and  field,  at  the 
rate  of  3.2  ounces  per  day  (20  pounds  to  the  hundred).  In 
garrison  all  of  this  passes  through  the  hands  of  the  cook, 
but  in  the  field  it  becomes  a  personal  issue,  made  for  several 
days  at  a  time,  chiefly  to  be  used  with  the  coffee 
(or  tea),  although  the  man  may  eat  it  at  pleasure. 
Issued  in  the  granulated  form,  it  should  be  carried  in  a  small 
water-proof  case  within  the  haversack  to  avoid  waste.  Besides 
the  sugar,  there  is  issued  in  garrison  .32  gill  (one  gallon  to 
the  hundred)  of  cane  syrup.  Further,  in  garrison 
jam  .64  ounce  per  man  (4  pounds  to  the  hundred) 
may  be  issued  as  a  substitute  for  prunes;  but  in  the  field 
1.4  ounces  per  man  (8}  pounds  to  the  hundred)  is  part  of  the 
formal  allowance.  Exclusive  of  the  fruit,  three-fourths  of  the 
jam  is  sugar.  A  soldier  therefore  receives  as  a  part  of  his  food 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  sugar  daily.  That  this 
does  not  entirely  supply  the  requirements  a  few  weeks  after 
the  campaign  has  opened,  is  seen  by  the  eagerness  with  which 
additional  saccharine  food  is  then  consumed.  Science  now 
admits  that  sugar  produces  energy,  as  well  as  creates  muscle 
and  fat.  This  has  long  been  practically  recognized  in  civil 
life  by  the  extensive  use  of  molasses  on  farms  and  in  lumber- 
camps,  and  of  molasses  and  water  as  a  sustaining  beverage  in 
the  haying-field.  The  comparatively  recent  demonstration 
on  a  large  scale,  by  the  British  troops  in  South  Africa  and  by 
our  own  men  in  the  Philippines,  of  the  place  of  sugar  in  the 
field  should  be  appreciated,  and  the  Subsistence  department 
should  be  prepared  to  make  special  gratuitous  issues  of  it  or  to 
sell  candy  to  the  troops  at  cost  price.  Sugar  as 
part  of  the  ration  is  cane  sugar.  Glucose,  trans- 
formed from  starch,  is  an  adulteration,  not  harmful,  as  some- 
times supposed,  but  inferior,  and  is  to  be  inspected  against  by 
purchasing  officers. 


140  MILITARY  HYGIENE     . 

The  ration,  both  garrison  and  field,  also  contains  a  half 

ounce  of  unsweetened,  evaporated  milk  (3j  pounds  to  the 

hundred),    excellent    when    honestly    made,    but 

hardly  more  than  a  luxury.     Unsweetened  milk  is 

said  not  to  keep  well  after  the  can  is  opened. 

Vinegar  is  issued  at  .16  gill  (2  quarts  to  the  hundred)  in 
garrison  and  in  the  field.  Cucumber  pickles  may  be  substi- 
tuted for  one-half,  or  less,  of  this  in  quantity. 
Vinegar,  of  which  the  pickle  may  be  regarded  as  a 
convenient  form,  has  been  immemorially  a  part  of  military 
subsistence.  The  Romans  drank  it  diluted  with  water  on  the 
march,  and  an  ingenious  explanation  of  Hannibal's  splitting 
the  Alpine  rocks  with  vinegar  is  that  he  maintained  the  vigor 
of  his  troops  in  those  barren  solitudes  by  its  free  use  in  their 
diet.  To  be  dietetically  valuable,  vinegar  must  be  the  product 
of  true  acetic  fermentation  and  not  merely  depend  upon  a 
mineral  acid  for  its  sourness.  Acetic  acid,  the  normal  con- 
stituent, is  valuable,  and  sulphuric  acid,  the  most  common 
adulteration,  is  hurtful  to  the  body.  The  latter  should  be 
Salt  and  constantly  inspected  against.  Salt  at  .64  ounce 
pepper  (4  pounds  to  the  hundred)  and  black  pepper  at 

.04  ounce  (J  pound  to  the  hundred)  are  supplied  alike  in  garri- 
son and  in  the  field.     Salt  is  indispensable  and  cannot  be 
omitted  for  any  length  of  time.     Pepper  is  desirable  but  not 
Condim  nt      essential-     Cinnamon,  cloves,  ginger,  and  nutmeg, 
interchangeable    substitutes    for    each    other    at 
.014  ounce  per  man  (1.4  ounces  per  hundred),  are  attractive 
condiments  in  garrison,  not  furnished  in  the  field.     In  the 
same  class  is  the  flavoring  extract  of  lemon  or 
of  vanilla,  .014  ounce  per  ration.     Lard,  used  in 
frying,  as  an  ingredient  in  some  foods,  for  application  to  the 
Butter  and     interior  of  utensils  in  cooking,  and  generally  where 
oleomar-        grease  is  required  in  the  kitchen,  is  issued  at  .64 
garme  ounce  per   man    (4   pounds  to  the  hundred)  in 

garrison,  not  in  the  field.     Butter  at  .5  ounce  per  ration  (3J 
pounds  per  hundred),  or  oleomargarine,  substitutive  at  the 


FOOD:  SMALL  PARTS  OF  RATION  141 

same  rate,  supplies  in  garrison  at  least  part  of  the  fat  in  which 
bread  is  deficient  and  which  every  diet  requires.  Difficulty 
of  transportation  denies  it  to  the  field.  The  margarine  prepa- 
rations with  different  designations  are  nutritious  forms  of  fat, 
which  should  not  be  objected  to  under  their  own  names  on  the 
company  mess-table. 

The  articles  enumerated  for  posts  are  supplemented  on 
occasion  by  nearly  every  food  obtainable  in  the  local  markets, 
through  exchange  or  purchase.  Possibly  the  very  Profusion  of 
abundance  and  variety  of  the  garrison  ration  are  in-  the  ration 
judicious  by  bringing  into  unpleasant  contrast  the  field  ration, 
which  is  adequate  and  toward  his  subsistence  upon  which  the 
training  of  the  soldier  should  be  constantly  directed.  It  may 

indeed  be  a  question  whether  the  field  ration  itself 

,  ,.  ,  ,    *..  ,    .,          .  ,  ,  ,.       Field  ration 

is  not  liable,  through  its  weight  and  comparative 

complexity,  to  be  impossible  of  supply  when  most  required. 
These  are  subjects  for  serious  consideration.  However  they 
are  decided,  his  ability  to  cook  his  rations  properly  and  without 
waste  is  a  marked  feature  in  the  efficiency  of  the  trained  sol- 
dier over  the  volunteer,  and  indeed  of  active  over  sedentary 
regiments.  Raw  commands  invariably  break  down  importance 
in  the  preparation  of  food,  and  over  and  over  again  of  cooking 
state  troops  on  riot  service  have  gone  to  pieces  from  inability 
to  feed  themselves  in  the  midst  of  plenty.  The  ability  to  cook 
is  not  intuitive,  so  that  the  practical  use  of  the  ration  is  one  of 
the  first  lessons  to  be  carefully  taught;  for  whenever  the  stom- 
ach is  not  properly  supplied  the  man  is  inefficient.  No  labor 
is  better  expended  on  the  soldier  than  instruction  in  cooking 
for  himself  and  in  squads.  Fire  discipline  has  its  foundation 
in  healthful  vigor,  and  the  Subsistence  department  may  lavish 
its  stores  in  vain  if  they  do  not  reach  the  soldier  in  an  assimi- 
lable form.  Superintendence  of  the  men's  cooking  is  required 
of  the  line  as  well  as  of  the  medical  corps  (R.  S.  Dntyof 
1174, 1234).  This  does  not  mean  that  they  should  officers 
instruct  in  minute  detail,  but  that  they  themselves  should 
understand  the  general  principles  and  see  that  they  are  fol- 


142  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

lowed.  Because  in  peace  the  National  Guard  has  so  little  time 
for  camp  life,  it  is  the  more  important  that  enough  of  that 
National  little  time  should  be  devoted  to  this  necessary  care. 
Guard  After  they  can  cook  the  ration  properly,  recruits 

may  pass  out  of  this  stage,  but  until  they  can  do  this  they  will 
simply  masquerade  as  soldiers.  On*the  other  hand,  the  com- 
pany or  the  regiment  that  can  best  prepare  the  regular  ration, 
not  some  fanciful  and  costly  variation  thereof,  will  be  the  one 
which  first  will  reach  and  longest  hold  its  position  in  the  field. 
It  should  be  quite  legitimate  for  such  troops  in  their  practice 
camp  to  employ  a  number  of  competent  civilians,  or  old  sol- 
diers, as  instructors,  not  as  their  cooks.  That  service  should 
stand  at  the  very  head  of  all  the  duties  in  such  a  camp  or  in 
one  of  concentration.  Among  seasoned  soldiers  the  recruits 
learn  through  absorption  by  contact.  In  the  permanent 
service,  upon  which  the  remainder  should  be 
modelled,  that  captain  whose  intelligent  enthu- 
siasm has  embraced  the  interests  of  the  company  mess  will 
have  the  most  willing  and  usually  the  most  dependable  com- 
pany behind  him.  In  garrison,  messes  of  more  than  one 
Garrison  organized  company  should  not  be  allowed.  They 
messes  relieve  company  officers  of  direct  responsibility  for 
the  welfare  of  their  men  in  this  respect,  and  interfere  with  the 
dissemination  of  practical  knowledge  among  individual  soldiers. 
Garrison  messes  would  foster  ignorance  of  one  of  those  very 
conditions  upon  whose  exercise  success  in  the  field  depends. 


XIX 

FOOD:   CANNED  FOODS;   UNOFFICIAL  FOODS;    DIETETIC     •> 
DISEASES;    ALCOHOL;    TOBACCO 

Much  excellent  food  is  supplied  in  tins,  a  state  well  suited 
for  preservation.  But  because  it  cannot  be  directly  observed 
before  issue,  special  care  is  necessary  in  inspection  when  origi- 
nally packed  and  also  while  in  store.  Formerly,  doubtful  goods 
having  a  fictitious  factory  name  and  no  dealer's  name  were 

freely  marketed.     First-class  canned  food  carried   t 

Canned  food 
both  the  true  name  of  the  factory  and  that  of  the 

wholesale  house  through  which  they  were  sold.  The  poorer 
goods  might  thus  easily  be  avoided  in  peace,  but  under  the 
pressure  of  war  they  might  be  foisted  upon  the  army.  The 
Pure  Food  laws  make  the  risk  of  substitution  much  less  now, 
but  it  still  is  important  critically  to  observe  the  filling  of  great 
contracts  where  there  is  constant  temptation  to  debasement. 
Canned  food  kept  long  in  stock,  especially  under  either  extreme 
of  temperature,  may  deteriorate;  and  sometimes  fermenta- 
tion occurs  because  the  original  quality  was  poor 
or  there  has  been  access  of  air.  If  gentle  tapping 
gives  a  hollow  sound  there  has  been  fermentation.  This  is 
still  more  evident  if  one  or  both  ends  bulge.  Two  sealing- 
holes  no  longer  imply  that  the  gas  of  fermentation  has  been 
allowed  to  escape  through  a  new  vent  which  afterward  was 
closed;  for  some  companies  habitually  use  two  holes  in  their 
original  packing.  But  an  occasional  can  with  double  holes 
means  inferior  contents.  A  flux  of  zinc  chloride,  sometimes 
used,  is  charged  with  being  harmful  to  health, 
although  this  has  not  been  proved.  The  older 
rosin  flux  is  a  harmless  seal,  for  at  the  worst  the  rosin  when 
carelessly  used  merely  affects  the  taste.  The  best  fastening 

143 


144  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

is  with  a  flange,  as  commonly  used  with  French  goods.     The 
true  weight  and  the  nominal  weight  of  canned  goods  rarely 

.  agree,   and  the  contents  of  certain   trade  pack- 
Trade  weight    '  .  . 

ages  are   officially  estimated  thus:    1-pound  can 

bakod  beans,  10 J  ounces;  3-pound  can,  34£  ounces;  2^  pounds 
tomatoes,  2  pounds;  3-pound  can,  2J  pounds;  gallon  can,  6} 
pounds.     This  should  be  remembered  when  drawing  stores  in 
bulk.     It  would  seem  that  cans  might  pack  to  greater  advan- 
tage and  be  carried  more  comfortably  upon  the 
person  (when  thus  required)  if  they  were  rectangu- 
lar and  relatively  flat  instead  of  being,  as  commonly,  circular 
in  section. 

There  are  other  foods  of  varying  degrees  of  acceptability 

sometimes  added  to  the  mess  from  the  company  fund,  liable 

occasionally  to  be  supplied  by  order  in  emergency. 

'  Thus,  oatmeal  carefully  cooked  is  very  nutritious, 

developing  weight  for  weight  130  foot-tons  of  potential  energy 

against  87.5  by  bread.     It  keeps  fairly  well,  but  in  a  tropical 

climate  packages  once  opened  must  be  used  rapidly.     It  is 

easily  cooked  and,  while  it  lacks  adhesiveness  for  making  large 

loaves,  small  flat  cakes  can  be  preserved.     It  is  rich  in  protein 

and  fat  and  is  good  military  food.     As  a  hot  or  cold  gruel  it  is 

extensively  and  profitably  used  by  laborers  on  hard  work,  and 

it  is  strongly  recommended  as  an  extra  issue  for  men  on  guard 

at  night  or  on  heavy  fatigue.     Oatmeal  porridge  is  a  capital 

occasional  dish  for  the  company  table  in  garrison.     Cheese 

was  formerly  but  is  no  longer  issued  to  travelling 

troops,  at  four  ounces  to  the  ration  (25  pounds  to 

the  hundred).     It  is  nutritious  and  economical,  being  rich  in 

nitrogen  and  in  fat.     A  half  pound  of  cheese  con- 
Composition 

tains  as  much  proteid  as  one  pound  of  meat  and  a 

third  of  a  pound  as  much  fat.     The  combination  of  bread  and 

.....      cheese,  or  of  hard  bread  and   cheese,  makes    an 
Digestibility  .  .  . 

almost   ideal    diet.     The    common    opinion    that 

cheese  is  necessarily  indigestible  is  not  well  founded,  for  when 
carefully  masticated  it  is  readily  acted  upon  by  the  digestive 


FOOD:  CANNED  FOODS;   UNOFFICIAL  FOODS,  ETC.      145 

fluids;  but  it  certainly  is  less  easily  assimilated  than  properly 
cooked  flesh,  so  that  it  is  better  as  an  occasional  than  as  a 
standard  diet.  The  "ripening"  that  cheeses  undergo  is  a 
bacterial  action.  The  richer  cheeses  decompose  Decomposi- 
rapidly,  and  all  are  liable  to  do  so  in  hot  climates.  tion 
Hence,  although  economical  as  actual  food,  cheese  is  wasteful 
as  accumulated  stock.  An  obscure  fermentative  (bacterial) 
change  sometimes  develops  an  active  gastro-intestinal  poison 
(tvrotoxicon)  in  cheese  that  presents  no  visible 

Tyrotoxicou 
sign  of  change.     This  may  be  detected  by  pressing 

against  the  cheese  a  strip  of  blue  litmus  paper,  which  will 
suddenly  become   red.     Boiling  water  dissipates   the   tyro- 
toxicon,  so  that  the  affected  cheese  may  be  safely  eaten  after 
having  been  cooked.     "Margarine   cheese"   is  a 
legitimate  artificial  product  in  which  other  fat  is 
substituted  for  that  of  milk.  Mushrooms  are  an  agreeable  addi- 
tion to  the  company  table  when  they  are  grown  naturally  and 

are  eaten  fresh.     Their  nutritive  value  has  probably 

Mushrooms 
been  overrated,  but  they  are  acceptable  for  flavor 

and  as  variety.     Under  favorable  conditions  they  are  readily 
cultivated;  but  as  other  fungi  which  closely  resemble  them  are 
very  poisonous,  every  doubtful  specimen  should  be  discarded. 
An  edible  mushroom  should  peel  easily,  be  a  clear  pink,  and 
have  a  curtain  attached  to  the  stalk.     The  bad  reputation 
of  tropical  fruits  depends  in  great  part  upon  care-    Tropical 
less  selection.     They  should  be  fresh,  sound,  and    fruit 
scrupulously  clean.     It  is  in  staleness,  commencing  decompo- 
sition, and  contamination  that  danger  lies.     Salads  and  other 
raw  food  grown  on  or  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  as  radishes, 
melons,  and  some  berries,  are  especially  liable  to    Raw  vege- 
receive  bacterial  or  parasitic  contamination  and  to    tables 
convey  such  infection.     This  risk  is  not  limited  to  the  tropics 
but  exists  wherever  sewage-fed  gardens  send  their  produce  to 
market.     It  is  greater  in  the  tropics  because  of  the  widespread 
faecal  pollution  of  the  soil  and  water  and  the  more  favorable 
conditions  for  bacterial  growth.     When  freed  from  such  risk 


146  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

by  careful  selection  and  effective  cleansing,  tropical  fruits  and 
vegetables  should  be  refreshing  and  wholesome.     Dried  corn 
mixed  with  sugar  or  mesquit-flour  is  extensively 
used  in  Mexico  and  along  that  frontier;  and  this 
might  well  be  issued  to  scouts  or  native  irregulars  for  field 
service.     It  is  not  suited  for  regular  troops  except  as  an  emer- 
gency substitute.     But  a  Mexican  Indian  runner  will  travel 
long  distances  when  eating  only  parched  corn  and  sugar,  and 
sometimes  a  little  dried  beef,  and  drinking  only  water. 

Occasionally  men  are  fed  through  the  company  fund  with 
food  of  a  cheaper  grade  than  the  regular  issues.     As  a  rule, 

which  has  exceptions,  such  food  is  inferior  as  well 
Cheap  food 

as  cheaper.     The  Pure  Food  laws  fairly  protect 

against  adulterations,  but  speaking  generally  it  is  not  eco- 
nomical to  buy  food  that  costs  much  less  than  that  supplied 
by  the  Subsistence  department. 

A  disease  which  formerly  ravaged  armies  and  always  ap- 
peared among  sailors  on  prolonged  voyages  was  scurvy;  and 

this  reappears  to-day  under  favorable  conditions. 

It  is  not  due  to  infection  and  hence  does  not  pass 
from  man  to  man,  but  its  common  cause  leads  to  widespread 
disability.  Scurvy  is  essentially  a  change  in  the  composition 
of  the  blood  from  the  lack  of  certain  necessary  constituents  in 
the  food.  This  is  now  so  well  understood  that  arctic  and  other 
explorers,  who  else  would  suffer,  are  able  to  guard  against 
scurvy  for  years  together.  Its  prevention  is  one  of  the  most 

successful  applications  of  sanitary  science.     The 

essential  cause  of  scurvy  is  probably  a  reduction 
in  the  alkalinity  of  the  blood,  due  to  the  lack  of  the  neutral 
salts  of  the  organic  acids  found  in  the  food,  generally  associated 
with  a  want  of  fresh  vegetables.  As  Notter  and  Firth  also 
observe,  the  prolonged  consumption  of  preserved  food,  animal 
and  vegetable,  is  so  associated  with  outbreaks  of  scurvy  that 
it  would  seem  due  to  a  "  devitalization  "  from  faulty  preserva- 
tion, not  to  bacterial  or  putrefactive  decomposition.  These 
conditions  are  supplemental,  not  opposing.  Scurvy  may  be 


FOOD:  DIETETIC  DISEASES,  ETC.  147 

superinduced  by  mental  depression.  Not  that  mental  depres- 
sion of  itself  will  cause  scurvy,  but  when  the  diet  is  unfit  the 
dejection  that  follows  defeat  or  is  due  to  unhappy  Mental 
conditions  may  precipitate  an  outbreak.  Scurvy  influences 
is  checked  by  cheerful  surroundings,  but  they  alone  are  insuffi- 
cient to  relieve  it.  Conversely  it  not  only  disheartens  the  men, 
whose  dash  lessens  and  whose  fortitude  gives  way,  but  its  earlier 
symptoms  simulate  other  distinct  diseases.  Company  officers 
are  not  to  regard  scurvy  as  obsolete,  something  that  dis- 
appeared with  percussion  caps  and  smooth-bore  muskets,  and 
when  they  learn  that  many  of  their  men  are  complaining  of 
"  chronic  rheumatism,"  the  soldier's  designation  for  indis- 
criminate and  multiple  aches,  or  of  stiffness  of  the  muscles,  and 
particularly  if  there  should  be  a  case  or  two  of  night  blindness, 
they  should  look  into  the  company  mess.  Scurvy  is  checked 
by  the  use  of  fresh  vegetables,  vegetable  acids,  or  their  vege- 
table salts.  The  habitual  use  of  raw  or  underdone 
flesh  is  remedial  or  preventive,  and  Munson  sug- 
gests that  cooking  splits  up  the  organic  acids  upon  which  this 
power  depends.  Pemmican  is  a  particularly  nutritious  anti- 
scorbutic in  great  vogue  in  arctic  regions.  Lime  juice  and 
lemon  juice  are  effective  as  preventives  and  as  remedies,  and 
are  well  adapted  for  use  on  shipboard.  In  general  terms  fresh 
succulent  fruits  and  vegetables  fill  the  need,  but  scurvy  is  not 
apt  to  occur  where  they  are  found.  Of  these  the  seeds  have 
little  value  and  the  legumes  none  at  all.  Of  the  generally 
available  the  raw  potato,  the  raw  onion,  and  the  raw  tomato 
are  the  best.  Cabbage  is  good,  fresh  cabbage  being  better  than 
sauerkraut.  Cider  vinegar  is  very  useful,  and  so  are  yellow 
mustard  and  the  cresses  eaten  raw,  lamb's-quarter  and  dande- 
lion leaves  as  a  salad  or  boiled  as  greens,  and  the  young  shoots 
of  the  poke-berry  served  as  a  vegetable.  Raw  potato,  peeled 
and  sliced  and  covered  in  layers  with  molasses,  is  an  excellent 
antiscorbutic  that  keeps  well  and  hence  is  available  in  the 
winter.  The  cactus,  whose  numerous  varieties  are  widely 
distributed  over  the  plains  of  the  West  and  South,  contains  a 


148  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

succulent  interior  excellent  for  this  purpose.  The  rough  cover- 
ing must  first  be  stripped,  sometimes  by  the  aid  of  fire.  The 
tall  kinds  of  cactus  supply  valuable  juice  when  tapped.  The 
best  of  all  antiscorbutics  is  the  agave  americana  (the  century 
plant).  It  is  prepared  by  cutting  off  the  fleshy  leaves  close  to 
the  root,  cooking  them  in  hot  ashes,  and  expressing  the  juice. 
This  should  be  drunk,  raw  or  sweetened,  at  the  rate  of  from 
one  to  four  wineglassfuls  three  times  a  day.  It  is  not  only 
preventive  but  actively  curative.  The  white  interior  of  the 
leaves  may  be  eaten  with  advantage. 

Another  disease  to  which  food-supply  is  supposed  to  bear 
a  causative  relation,  liable  to  affect  large  numbers  of  men,  is 
.  beri-beri.  This  practically  concerns  the  army  only 
as  touching  its  Oriental  dependents;  but  beri-beri 
has  scourged  Filipino  prisoners  so  terribly  that  a  caution  is 
necessary  against  confusing  that  which  happens  with  that 
which  must  happen.  Locality  is  also  believed  to  be  a  contrib- 
uting factor  so  far  as  to  require  the  evacuation,  at  least 
temporarily,  of  the  camp,  barrack,  or  prison  in  which  the 
epidemic  appears.  This  disease  is  technically  a  form  of  neu- 
ritis which  is  constantly  present  in  most  subtropical  countries, 
and  its  victims  are  principally  among  the  rice-eating  peoples, 
but  its  precise  cause  has  not  been  scientifically  demonstrated. 
The  Japanese  navy,  which  it  formerly  ravaged,  has  been 
practically  freed  from  it  by  a  liberal  increase  in  the  ration, 
which  was  made  on  a  theory  of  nitrogen-starvation.  But 
during  the  recent  Russian  war  the  army  was  more  liberally 
fed  than  at  home  and  nevertheless  suffered  greatly.  It  seems 
probable  that  once  having  arisen,  whatever  the  exact  cause, 
succeeding  cases  are  rapidly  infected  and  that  the  locality 
becomes  charged  with  the  active  agent.  Sanitation  rather 
than  clinical  medicine  is  required  to  limit  its  progress.  It  is 
necessary  to  fortify  those  within  its  influence  with  a  diet  better 
in  kind  and  greater  in  amount,  to  remove  them  from  a  damp 
locality,  and  to  magnify  the  area  and  the  cubic  space  at 
their  disposal.  Notter  and  Firth,  acting  on  reports  from  the 


FOOD:  DIETETIC  DISEASES,  ETC.  149 

Malay  States,  give  credit  to  Fletcher's  contention  that  those 
who  live  on  "uncured"  rice  may  contract  the  disease  while 
those  who  subsist  on  the  "cured"  variety  are  exempt.     The 
cured  rice  has  been  boiled  before  it  is  stored,  and  they  suggest 
as  possible  that  an  infective  parasite  may  have  been  killed, 
or  an  essential  poison  in  the  rice  have  been  destroyed  by  the 
heat,  as  the  alternative  of  supposing  that  the  cured  rice  is 
richer  than  the  uncured  in  the  proteids.     The  white  races  seem 
to  have  a  substantial  but  not  absolute  immunity  to  beri-beri. 
Alcohol  in  the  form  of  whiskey  was  once  a  part  of  the  ration, 
and  later  it  has  been  an  occasional  issue.     Now  it  is  only 
supplied  through  the  medical  department.     It  is, 
however,  sometimes  suggested  to  be  desirable  after 
exposure,  and  there  is  a  contention  that  its  moderate  habitual 
use  in  tropical  countries  would  be  beneficial.     It  may  unhesi- 
tatingly be  affirmed  that  under  normal  physical  conditions 
alcohol  is  never  necessary  and  usually  is  undesirable.     Aca- 
demically considered,  alcohol  may  be  regarded  as  a  food  when 
taken  in  very  small  quantities.     But  it  is  by  no 
means   the   best   food,    and   beyond   exceedingly 
narrow  limits  it  acts  so  anomalously  upon  the  nervous  system 
in  health  that  it  is  impossible  to  consume  enough  to  be  of 
nutritious  importance.     The  food  value  of  alcohol  for  any 
effective   purpose  may  therefore  be  dismissed  as  nil.      In 
moderate  amounts  alcohol  temporarily  increases  the  power 
for  muscular  work,  but  this  is  so  promptly  sue-    Amount  of 
ceeded  by  enervation  that  in  about  half  an  hour    work 
the  work  falls  below  the  average  and  succeeding  doses  do  not 
renew  the  force.     The  sum  total  of  work  done  with  alcohol  is 
less  than  that  done  without  it.    The  quality  as  well    Quality  of 
as  the  quantity  of  work  done  is  diminished,  even    work 
after  very  moderate  indulgence,  as  is  demonstrable  in  type- 
setting, in  marksmanship,  and  in  such  methodical    Action  on 
exertion  as  simple  marching.     This  is  strikingly    the  brain 
evident  at  the  target-range,   and  would  be  still  more  con- 
spicuous under  the  conditions  of  war.     The  action  of  alco- 


150  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

hol  upon  the  nervous  system  is  primarily  due  to  its  influence 
upon  the  brain,  which  is  noticeably  affected  by  four-tenths  of 
one  part  per  thousand  parts  (.0004)  of  body-weight.  That  is, 
a  trifle  over  half  a  pint  of  wine  containing  ten  per  cent,  of 
alcohol  will  induce  in  a  person  of  average  weight  cerebral 
changes  sufficiently  obvious  to  be  studied.  That  would  be 
the  equivalent  of  one  pint  of  five  per  cent,  beer,  or  of  rather 
less  than  two  tablespoonfuls  of  forty-five  per  cent,  whiskey  or 
brandy.  The  so-called,  or  presumed,  excitement  induced  by 
alcohol  is  really  a  more  or  less  incoordination  of  the  psychical 
qualities.  It  is  essentially  an  anaesthetic  which  relaxes  in  an 
increasing  ratio  the  restraints  of  reason  and  judgment.  It  is 
this  relaxation  of  restraint  rather  than  a  true  stimulation  which 
leads  first  to  cheerfulness  and  then  through  gayety  to  the 
hilarity  of  conviviality,  an  hilarity  so  liable  to  transcend  pro- 
priety and  to  degenerate  into  violence  or  to  be  lost  in  stupor.  In 
Effect  upon  small  quantities  alcohol  exercises  no  influence  on  the 
temperature  temperature  of  a  healthy  adult;  medium  quantities 
lower  it  a  little;  large  quantities  cause  a  fall  of  several  degrees, 
extending  over  several  hours.  The  sense  of  warmth  that  cer- 
tainly is  felt  after  drinking  a  small  quantity  of  alcohol  is  not 
due  to  any  increase  of  bodily  heat,  but  to  the  dilatation  of  the 
small  blood-vessels  of  the  stomach  and  skin  through  which 
more  of  the  warm  blood  of  the  interior  is  brought  into  contact 
with  the  sensory  nerves.  These  register  the  heat-impression 
which  depends  upon  the  transfer,  not  upon  the  increment,  of 
the  agent.  The  lowering  of  the  bodily  temperature  by  alcohol 
increases  the  danger  of  freezing  while  intoxicated,  which  is 
so  notorious  in  the  severer  climates.  Such  positive  reduction 
of  the  vital  warmth  destroys  resistance  to  the  outer  cold,  and 
the  narcotic  action  of  the  alcohol  substitutes  insensibility  and 
helplessness  for  the  alertness  necessary  to  overcome  the  pros- 
General  tration.  The  experience  of  large  commands  all 
influence  over  the  world  and  under  all  conditions  of  heat, 
cold,  and  exposure  has  been  uniform  that  health  and  efficiency 
are  greater  when  no  spirits  are  used.  In  garrison,  in  camp, 


FOOD  :  ALCOHOL  151 

with  working  parties,  on  forced  marches,  on  outpost  service, 
to  say  nothing  of  battle  itself,  small  quantities  have  no  influ- 
ence, and  the  moment  its  effect  is  recognized  alcohol  is  hurtful. 
Taken  habitually  even  in  really  small  quantities,  alcohol  leads 
slowly  to  morbid  changes  in  all  parts  of  the  body,  which 
become  permanent;  and  on  this  account  its  daily  " moderate" 
use  is  more  dangerous  to  the  health  of  the  con-  Spirit- 
sumer  than  are  periodical  debauches.  Once  the  drinking 
habit  of  moderate  drinking  is  acquired,  the  demand  for  alcohol 
steadily  increases,  so  that  the  entire  avoidance  of  spirits  is 
always  the  safer  and  to  many  is  the  easier  course.  Even  in 
small  amounts,  alcohol  disturbs  muscular  action,  alters  the 
disposition,  and  deranges  the  judgment;  hence,  independently 
of  the  disease  it  may  induce,  the  untrustworthiness  of  the 
intemperate  and  the  serious  consequences  of  their  action  and 
their  inaction  are  sufficient  reasons  for  discouraging  its  use 
in  military  life.  As  maintained  by  Binz,  "the  habit  of  taking 
alcoholic  stimulants  apart  from  meals  is  a  public  evil  from  a 
sanitary,  economic,  and  intellectual  point  of  view."  What 
is  true,  in  this  way,  of  civil  life  is  doubly  true  of  the  military 
service,  where  clear  judgment  and  swift  decision  are  required 
of  the  leaders  and  prompt  coordinate  action  of  the  subor- 
dinates. A  high  moral  duty  rests  upon  officers  not  to  mis- 
lead their  commissioned  juniors  through  their  own  example, 
nor  to  set  a  pattern  which  the  rank  and  file  would  be  swift  to 
follow.  Further,  alcoholics  exhibit  increasing  liability  to 
disease  through  greater  risks  and  lowered  resistance,  and  they 
usually  suffer  a  severer  type  of  the  graver  constitutional 
affections.  A  man  who  drinks  beer  to  excess  is  Beer- 
always  a  nuisance,  although  not  so  actively  as  the  drinking 
spirit-drinker.  Beer-drinkers  become  gross  in  body  without 
being  vigorous;  besides  its  visible  redundance,  they  accumulate 
fat  where  it  is  apt  to  be  harmful,  as  between  the  muscular 
fibres  of  the  heart;  they  are  inclined  to  be  mentally  slow  and 
stupid,  and,  although  not  quarrelsome  or  violent,  their  effi- 
ciency is  distinctly  lessened.  Nevertheless  many  if  not  most 


152  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

recruits  are  moderate  beer-drinkers  before  enlistment,  and  as 
beer-drinking  is  much  less  subversive  of  discipline  than  is 
spirit-drinking,  and  particularly  as  spirit-drinking 
out  of  garrison  is  a  fruitful  cause  of  disorder  and 
leads  directly  to  incidental  disease  and  often  to  indisci- 
pline, a  well-regulated  Post  Exchange,  wherein  malt  liquor 
may  be  sold  under  supervision,  promotes  essential  temper- 
ance and  military  efficiency  by  decreasing  the  temptation 
to  drinking,  with  its  incidental  excesses,  beyond  the  lines. 
A  voluntarily  abstinent  army  would  be  most  desirable;  but 
that  is  not  yet  attainable,  and  the  best  present  substitute  is 
one  content  with  the  regulated  and  moderate  use  of  beer  in 
garrison.  On  taking  the  field  no  alcoholic  beverage  of  any 
sort  should  accompany  the  troops  and  no  vender  of  drinks 
under  any  name  be  tolerated,  for  upon  the  slightest  oppor- 
tunity spirits  would  be  smuggled  within  the  lines,  to  the 
impairment  of  health  and  the  detriment  of  discipline.  The 
.  administration  of  alcohol  in  disease  is  entirely 

distinct  from  its  use  as  a  beverage  in  health,  and  is 
a  question  of  therapeutics,  not  of  hygiene.  The  consumption 
of  a  teaspoonf ul  or  less  of  diluted  alcohol  by  famished  explorers 
in  danger  of  freezing  appears  to  have  saved  such  starving  and 
exhausted  men  from  immediate  death.  Such  use  is  distinctly 
medicinal,  the  oxidation  of  the  contained  hydrocarbons  appar- 
ently supplying  enough  heat  and  perhaps  energy  temporarily 
to  prolong  life.  Such  use  requires  skill  and  much  caution  to 
avoid  more  harm.  Of  the  more  common  spir- 
ituous drinks,  whiskey  contains  from  41.5  to  52.15 
per  cent,  of  alcohol,  brandy  about  48.37  per  cent.,  and  Ameri- 
can beer  about  5  per  cent.,  all  by  volume. 

A  crudely  distilled  spirit  is  found  in  the  Philippines  under 

the  common  name  of  "vino,"  which  the  natives  drink  in  very 

small  quantities  and  with  extreme  moderation. 

When  taken  by  the  whites  as  they  would  whiskey, 

it  is  baneful  and  it  frequently  induces  acute  temporary  but 

violent  mania.    The  persistent  use  of  vino  wrecks  the  cerebral 


FOOD:  ALCOHOL;  TOBACCO  153 

centres,  so  that  the  men  should  have  its  character  distinctly 
explained  by  the  company  as  well  as  by  the  medical  officers. 
Absinthe,  a  peculiarly  poisonous  liqueur,  less  liable  . 
to  be  taken  by  the  men  than  by  officers,  at  first 
after  a  dinner  and  later  by  itself  for  its  own  sake,  contains  from 
forty-seven  to  eighty  per  cent,  of  alcohol  and  the  aromatic 
principles  of  wormwood  and  other  plants.  Its  special  poison 
is  due  to  these  aromatics.  Absinthe  induces  epileptic  attacks 
as  well  as  delirium,  sometimes  in  succession,  sometimes  one  and 
not  both.  Unlike  alcohol  itself  it  very  soon  occasions  hallu- 
cinations and  it  quickly  and  completely  destroys  its  victims' 
nervous  system.  To  drink  absinthe  is  a  military  offence  in 
the  French  army.  Wood  (methylic)  alcohol,  derived  from 
the  destructive  distillation  of  wood  and  exten- 
sively  used  in  the  arts,  is  acutely  and  often  fatally 
poisonous  when  drunk,  as  it  sometimes  is  under  misappre- 
hension. Every  vessel  that  contains  it  should  be  plainly 
marked  "  Poison,"  and  its  nature  should  be  made  a  subject  of 
instruction,  for  fatal  accidents  frequently  occur  from  ignorance. 
The  Subsistence  department  sells  tobacco  at  cost  to  soldiers. 
Because  it  materially  disarranges  and  impairs  nervous  action, 
tobacco  is  very  detrimental  to  the  young,  particu- 
larly when  its  active  principle  (nicotine)  is  ab- 
sorbed through  the  inhalation  of  the  smoke.  After  tolerance 
has  been  established,  tobacco  is  a  frequent  solace  to  the  adult 
and  it  seems  to  diminish  molecular  waste.  On  this  account 
soldiers  already  accustomed  to  it  may  use  it  with  advantage 
when  on  hard  marches  with  limited  food.  But  this  excep- 
tional benefit  does  not  compensate  for  the  physical  drawbacks 
that  mark  the  acquisition  and  in  many  cases  the  practice  of 
the  habit. 


XX 

SOILS   AND    SITES 

In  its  hygienic  relations  soil  is  that  portion  of  the  earth's 
crust  that  may  affect  health.  Besides  the  ordinary  mineral 
basis,  it  may  include  vegetable  and  occasionally 
animal  remains  and,  except  in  the  most  compact 
rocks,  air  always  and  water  usually  is  found  in  the  interstices. 
It  is  the  character  of  the  soil  much  more  than  what  is  popu- 
larly called  "the  air  of  the  place"  which  determines  the  health- 
fulness  of  a  locality. 

For  purposes  of  residence  soils  are  roughly  divided  into  per- 
meable and  impermeable.  The  impermeable  are  weathered 

granite,  trap  and  metamorphic  rocks,  the  various 
Permeability  °  ' 

hard  limestones,  clay  slate  and  dense  clay,  imper- 
meability referring  to  the  barrier  presented  to  the  passage  of 
water  and  permeability  to  the  possible  movement  of  water 
through  the  substance  of  the  soil.  The  permeable  soils  are 
the  chalks,  sandstones,  sands,  and  vegetable  moulds.  Of 
these  average  sandstone  absorbs  about  twenty-five  per  cent, 
and  ordinary  mould  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  per  cent,  of 
rainfall.  Obviously,  where  water  may  pass  air  and  similar 
gases  will  also  be  present  and  will  more  freely  move.  The  air 

within  the  soil  is  generally  rich  in  carbon  dioxide 

(C02),  and  may  be  charged  with  more  noxious 
gases  and  with  effluvia  from  organic  decomposition.  The 
proportion  of  CO2,  the  result  of  chemical  disintegration  of  more 
complex  bodies,  has  been  found  at  a  depth  of  thirteen  feet 
below  the  surface  to  range  from  26.3  to  54.5  volumes  per  1000  of 
Motion  of  the  contained  air,  and  the  soil-air  with  all  its  gas- 
soil-air  eous  contaminations  is  constantly  in  motion  laterally 
and  vertically.  These  movements  of  the  soil-air  are  due  to 
changes  of  temperature  in  the  soil  and  to  the  effect  of  rain. 

154 


SOILS  AND  SITES  155 

The  fluctuations  which  the  rain,  locally  or  at  a  distance,  makes 
in  the  ground- water  alter  the  position  of  the  soil-air,  displacing 
first  that  which  is  superficial  and  later  the  deeper  air.  The 
direction  of  that  movement  always  depends  upon  the  degree 
of  resistance  encountered.  A  more  common  cause  of  subsoil 
air  currents  is  change  of  temperature,  either  seasonal  or  arti- 
ficial. The  looser  the  soil  the  more  freely  and  the  further  the 
air  may  travel  through  it;  and  when  the  surface  is  consoli- 
dated, as  by  freezing  or  when  it  is  closely  paved,  the  gaseous 
elements  may  traverse  long  lateral  distances.  They  move 
under  the  pressure  of  rising  ground-water;  in  the  effort  to 
equalize  their  density  with  that  of  the  atmosphere;  by  the 
vis  a  tergo  from  a  ruptured  conduit,  as  a  gas  main ;  or  by  being 
drawn  toward  the  partial  vacuum  created  by  the  rarefaction 
of  adjacent  air.  Thus  the  upward  draught  of  air  in  a  heated 
dwelling  attracts  the  soil-air  (ground-air)  into  the  cellar,  which 
acts  as  a  flue  to  carry  it  into  the  house.  Every  winter  fatal 
cases  of  gas-poisoning  occur  in  cities  among  the  poor  where 
the  illuminant  makes  its  way  from  fractured  street  mains 
beneath  but  parallel  to  the  surface,  escaping  into  subterra- 
basement  sleeping-rooms.  The  gases  of  decay  nean  cur- 
when  set  free  in  such  a  soil  follow  a  similar  course.  rents 
Such  possibilities  are  always  to  be  remembered  when  men  are 
hutted  on  the  ground,  as  in  winter  camps,  or  married  quarters 
are  unwisely  placed;  for  air  from  cesspools,  broken  drains,  and 
buried  decomposing  matter  may  pass  laterally  and  escape 
upward  through  the  earthen  floor  or  into  a  cellar.  Dug-outs, 

or  the  excavation  of  tent  floors  for  the  sake  of 

Dujr-outs 
warmth,  should  be  tolerated  only  in  wholesome 

and  perfectly  dry  soil,  and  all  permanent  habitations,  particu- 
larly on  sandy  ground,  should  be  cemented  below  the  surface 
level  or  be  built  on  arches. 

Besides  air,  soils  contain  water,  divided  into  soil-moisture 
and  ground-water.  The  soil  is  moist  when  it  contains  air  as 
well  as  water;  but  ground-water  fills  the  interstices  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  air,  so  that  there  is  a  continuous  sheet  of  water 


156  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

excepting  as  its  particles  are  separated  by  solid  portions  of  the 
soil.  Soil-moisture  is  derived  in  part  from  the  rainfall,  when 
Water  in  its  amount  depends  upon  the  quantity  of  rain  and 
the  soil  upon  the  ability  of  the  soil  to  absorb  and  retain 
it.  It  also  depends  in  part  upon  evaporation  and  the  capil- 
Soil—  l&ry  action  that  follows  the  changing  ground-water 

moisture  level,  being  more  appreciable  in  the  upper  soil 
when  the  ground-water  is  high.  This  dampness  of  the 
upper  soil,  by  its  absorption  into  the  walls  of  habitations 
Influence  on  niay  render  their  atmosphere  chill  and  hnmid. 
health  It  affects  health  by  furthering  the  decomposi- 

tion of  organic  matter  lying  in  the  ground  and  by  pre- 
disposing to  and  aggravating  catarrhal,  rheumatic,  and 
neuralgic  affections  and  by  promoting  tuberculosis.  A 
damp  house  is  invariably  an  unwholesome  house.  There- 
fore when  compelled  to  bivouac  upon  damp  ground  —  and 
most  ground  is  damp  in  relation  to  the  body  —  there  should 
be  either  a  water-proof  sheet  interposed  between 
the  person  and  the  ground  or,  better,  the  man 
should  lie  on  some  slight  elevation  of  boughs,  boards,  rails,  or 
even  stones,  which  would  remove  him  from  direct  contact  and 
by  preference  afford  an  underlying  air-space.  The  discomfort 
is  trifling  in  comparison  with  health.  A  large  command  not 
in  a  wooded  country  cannot  thus  supply  itself,  when  it  is  more 
important  for  blankets  or  extra  wraps  to  be  under  than  over 
the  body.  The  health  of  animals  as  well  as  of  men  may  be 
affected  by  redundant  soil-moisture.  A  striking  illustration 

of  this  is  the  case  of  two  stables  exactly  alike  ex- 

With  stables  .        .  . 

cepting  that  in  one  the  ground-water  was  two  and 

a  half  feet  and  in  the  other  between  five  and  six  feet  from  the 
surface.  The  horses  received  identical  care,  but  in  the  one 
with  the  excess  of  soil-moisture  there  was  constant  sickness 
while  in  the  other  there  was  none.  Equal  health  was  attained 
by  merely  draining  the  damper  soil. 

The  ground-water  or  subsoil-water,  the  water-level  of  the 
engineers,  is  a  subterranean  sheet  lying  at  different  depths 


SOILS  AND  SITES  157 

according  to  the  locality,  from  two  or  three  to  hundreds  of 
feet  below  the  surface,  not  necessarily  horizontal,   in   con- 
stant motion  generally  toward  the  nearest  water-    Ground- 
course,  with  changing  level  and  varying  flow,  and    water 
affected  by  such  obstacles  as  rock  dykes,  the  roots  of  trees, 
deep  wells,  and  low  drains.     As  a  general  rule  a  high  ground- 
water  is  insalubrious  for  those  who  live  over  it,  and  lowering 
its  level  as  little  as  two  feet  has  been  known  to    TO  lower 
make  unhealthful  sites  innocuous.     The  soil  may    ground- 
be  made  drier  by  diverting  the  inflow,  by  opening    water 
the  outflow,  or  by  deep  drainage.     It  sometimes  happens  that 
the  afflux  of  water  from  higher  ground  fills  an  otherwise  desir- 
able site  with  a  flow  that  cannot  escape  freely.     The  soil  be- 
comes water-sodden.     An  intercepting  drain  or  a  diversion  of 
the  surplus  water  by  auxiliary  drains  will  give  partial  relief. 
Opening  the  natural  exits  and  adding  to  them  will  give  the 
detained  water  opportunity  to  escape.     In  other  cases  direct 
drainage  by  the  introduction  of  tile  drains  at  a  sufficient  depth 
will  keep  the  level  sufficiently  low.     It  is  the  province  of  sani- 
tation to  point  out  what  is  required  and,  when  desired,  to  ex- 
plain the  reasons;  but  its  execution  is  a  matter  of  engineering. 
A  permanent  post  would  rarely  be  demanded  upon 
a  water-soaked  site,  but  a  camp  of  investment  or 
one  of  observation  may  be  forced  into  such  a  situation.     Sani- 
tary drainage  would  add  more  to  the  capacity  of  the  situation 
than  equal  labor  expended  upon  more  ostensibly  defensive 
works.     The  substitution  of  quick-lime  and  ashes  for  a  few 
inches  of  the  surface  soil  in  a  damp  post  is  of  advantage  as  a 
desiccant  over  limited  areas  where  the  destruction  of  vegeta- 
tion is  of  no  consequence.     As  a  matter  of  intelligent  sanitary 
precaution  newly  established  posts  on  all  but  the  most  imper- 
meable soils  should  be  underdrained  from  eight  to  ten  feet 
deep  in  lines  ten  to  twenty  feet  apart.     In  the    Under- 
extreme  south  deep  underdraining  should  be  car-    drainage 
ried  out  even  in  apparently  sandy  soils.     Tiles  once  properly 
laid   are   practically   indestructible.     To   lay   them   the   bed 


158  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

should  be  hollowed  in  undisturbed  soil  by  the  workmen  resting 
their  feet  on  a  berm  ten  or  twelve  inches  from  the  bottom. 
A  fall  of  one  in  a  hundred  is  sufficient,  and  with  good  work- 
manship one  in  two  hundred  is  enough.  With  a  grade  of 
less  than  one  in  a  hundred  or  with  a  poor  foundation,  the  work 
should  begin  at  the  upper  end,  but  with  a  greater  grade  at 
the  outlet.  Subsoil  drainage  is  effected  by  laying  small-calibre 
tiles  with  minute  spaces  between  the  lengths,  which  are  covered 
with  earthern  collars  or,  as  devised  by  Waring,  with  a  thin 
muslin  band.  This  prevents  earth  from  falling  in  before  it 
packs.  The  free  water  enters  the  gaps  from  the  bottom,  thus 
establishing  a  new  water-level  to  which  the  water  in  the  soil 
recedes  as  rapidly  as  the  water  at  that  level  drains  away. 
The  water  does  not  descend  into  the  tiles  but  it  rises  to  them, 
as  they  offer  a  channel  for  its  escape  from  the  pressure  of  the 
water  above.  Once  well  established,  such  a  system  need  never 
be  disturbed.  The  unenclosed  drains  of  broken  stone  act  on 
the  same  principle,  but  are  more  apt  to  become  occluded. 

As  a  source  of  water-supply  ground-water  will  be  discussed 
later. 

Granite,  metamorphic  and  trap  rocks  and  impermeable  clay 
slates  are  usually  dry  and  healthful  sites,  but  with  all  these 
Impermea-  there  may  be  a  scanty  supply  of  drinking-water, 
ble  sites  Limestone  is  generally  dry  and  acceptable  and  the 
water  is  apt  to  be  hard,  clear  and  sparkling.  Limestone  is 
very  liable  to  contain  communicating  rifts,  sometimes  miles 

in   length,    through   which   contaminations    may 
Limestone  .        .  .    .  .  _     ,. 

pass  to  the  drinking-water.     In  limestone  ranges 

marshes  at  great  elevations  are  not  uncommon,  due  to  the 
retention  of  water  and  vegetable  and  other  debris  in  the  broken 
surfaces  which  characterize  that  formation.  A  wet  and  un- 
wholesome site  due  to  a  high  ground-water,  although  super- 
ficially dry,  may  be  found  in  very  elevated  mountain  valleys 
which  collect  and  retain  the  rainfall  and  melted  snow  from 
dominating  peaks.  Fort  Lewis,  now  discontinued,  was  a 
conspicuous  example  of  selection  with  no  attention  to  the 


SOILS  AND  SITES  159 

subsoil  conditions.     Permeable  sandstones,  the  air  and  soil 
being  dry,  are  very  salubrious;  but  shallow  sandstone  under- 
laid by  clay  may  be  damp.    Deep  gravels  not  lower    Sandstones 
than  the  general  surface  are  always  desirable,  and    and  &ravel 
the  very  best  sites  are  gravel  hillocks.    Clay  and  deep  alluvial 
soils  generally  are  suspicious.     Clay  holds  water 
so  that  the  air  over  it  usually  is  damp.     The 
alluvials  contain  vegetable   matter  and  are  liable  to  have 
impermeable  strata  intermixed.     Deep  pure  sand,  free  from 
organic  matter,  is  wholesome.     But  sands  that  are 
lived  upon  soon  become  charged  with  refuse  whose 
gases  and  liquids  may  pass  through  them  laterally  as  well  as 
perpendicularly  for  long  distances.     Some  sands  have  vege- 
table debris  intermixed,  undesirable  in  decomposition;  and 
others  have  water  held  within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface  by 
underlying    clay.     Such    a    combination    obviously    is    bad. 
Made  sites,  especially  near  towns,  represent  refuse 
which  frequently  is  impure,  and  always  should  be 
avoided  for  camps  or  cantonments.     The  minimum  time  for 
the  dissolution  of  organic  refuse  is  three  years,  and  even  after 
complete   decomposition   occurs   such   situations   should   be 
avoided.     In  the  vicinity  of  a  post  well-cultivated  territory 
is  usually  healthful,  the  exception  being  paddy-    vicinity  of 
fields.     The  cultivation  of  rice  should  not  be  tol-    posts 
erated   near  military  reservations,   partly   because  of   their 
frequent  flooding  and  consequent  dampness  but  chiefly  from 
being  breeding-places  for  mosquitoes,  the  agents  of  malaria. 
Shifting  sands,  which  often  are  an  annoyance  on 
reservations,  may  be  fixed  in  the  warmer  climates, 
where  they  are  chiefly  found,  by  growing  upon  them  Bermuda 
grass  or  lupine. 

Deleterious  situations  independently  of  soils  are  enclosed 
valleys,  ravines  or  the  mouths  of  long  ravines,  ill-drained 
ground,   in   warm   climates   the   neighborhood   of    sites  apart 
marshes,    particularly    if    the    wind    would    carry    fr<>m  soils 
mosquitoes  from  them  to  the  post,  and  the  northern  slope  of 


160  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

mountains.  On  sanitary  grounds  an  enclosed  valley  is  objec- 
tionable, as  interfering  with  free  ventilation  on  a  large  scale 
Enclosed  and  as  concentrating  and  retaining  drainage, 
valley  Through  ravines  there  will  probably  be  an  air 

current  in  one  direction  by  day  and  reversed  at  night, 
Ravines  leading  to  abrupt  changes  of  temperature,  often 
to  local  humidity,  and  sometimes  to  an  invasion  of 
disease-causing  insects  with  the  out-current.  But  these  are 
insufficient  to  interfere  with  establishing  a  defensive  post  near 
the  mouth  of  a  pass.  Proximity  to  marshes,  especially  at 
their  level,  is  undesirable;  to  be  in  the  course  of  prevailing 

winds  from  them  may  be  disastrous.  In  the 
Marshes 

warmer  latitudes  military  posts  near  streams 
should  be  on  the  windward,  which  in  this  country  is  usually 
the  southern,  bank.  When  military  considerations  allow  a 
choice,  the  southern  is  much  more  desirable  than  the 
northern  side  of  a  mountain  or  high  hill,  for  protection 
Mountain  against  cold  winds  and  for  a  wider  range  of 
light.  From  a  sanitary  point  of  view  the  best  sit- 
uation for  a  post  is  a  lower  divide  or  saddle-back,  unless 
too  much  exposed  or  without  water.  One  almost  as  good 
Divide  *S  near  ^e  top  °f  a  slope.  But  no  site,  what- 

ever its  altitude,  unless  thoroughly  drained  is 
acceptable  if  dominated  by  surrounding  heights.  Military 
requirements  sometimes  lead  posts  to  be  established  at  con- 
Extreme  siderable  elevations.  At  moderate  altitudes  health 
elevation  is  generally  more  vigorous  than  at  the  sea  level, 
but  continued  residence  at  10,000  feet  or  above  is  found  to 
occasion  nervous  irritability  sufficient  to  interfere  with  har- 
monious discipline.  At  such  posts  the  garrison  should  be 
changed  at  least  once  in  two  years.  In  the  barren  regions  of 
the  southwest  a  camp  is  sometimes  pitched,  and  indeed  a 
Oasis  in  a  post  occasionally  established,  upon  a  verdant 
desert  oasis,  because  it  is  attractive  to  the  eye.  There 

is  verdure  because  there  is  also  high  ground-water,  which 
opens  a  risk  of  sickness. 


SOILS  AND  SITES  161 

In  its  relation  to  sites  vegetation  is  divided  into  herbage, 
brushwood,  and  trees.  By  herbage  is  meant  grass  and  veg- 
etation which  perishes  annually.  Closely  lying 
grass  is  always  healthful,  but,  as  just  noted,  on 
otherwise  arid  plains  localized  verdure  indicates  a  damp 
and  hence  an  unwholesome  site.  All  herbage  should  be 
kept  closely  .trimmed,  and  weeds  are  not  to  be  tolerated. 
They  usually  grow  luxuriantly  and  they  present  constant 
temptation  for  the  concealment  of  broken  property,  sometimes 
of  garbage  itself,  that  should  be  systematically  destroyed. 
Fortunately  frequent  cutting  destroys  weeds  and  benefits 
grass.  If  weeds  attain  full  growth  about  a  permanent  post 
they  should  be  cut  down  and  burned  before  decaying.  But 
it  is  better  not  to  remove  primitive  vegetation  about  a  merely 
temporary  camp,  chiefly  from  the  additional  labor  it  imposes 
and  the  risk  of  developing  hollows  to  hold  water.  If  the 
camp  persists,  the  herbage  should  be  cut  or  trampled  flat  for 
a  broad  belt  around  its  borders;  and  for  a  prolonged  stay 
everything  is  to  be  cleared  away.  Belts  of  brush,  tall  shrubs, 
and  dense  herbage  about  a  marsh  or  stagnant  water  Brush  near 
check  the  flight  of  malaria-bearing  insects,  and  in  marshes 
this  way  protect  residents  in  the  vicinity.  Roads  to  water  cut 
through  heavy  growths  and  woods  sometimes  open  a  passage 
for  mosquitoes  that  otherwise  are  barred.  Forests  in  both 
cold  and  hot  countries  keep  the  ground  cooler  and  more 
moist  than  it  would  be  if  bare.  By  obstructing 
the  sun's  rays  they  prevent  the  soil  from  becom- 
ing heated,  and  the  tree  roots  detain  water  that  otherwise 
would  rapidly  run  off.  The  terrestrial  evaporation  is  lessened, 
but  that  from  the  trees  perceptibly  lowers  the  atmospheric 
temperature.  In  cold  countries  forests  break  cold  winds,  and 
in  hot  countries  they  cool  the  ground  itself,  and  they  may 
protect  against  currents  of  insect-infected  air,  although  some- 
times dense  vegetation  so  intercepts  the  air's  course  that  it 
becomes  stagnant.  In  the  tropics,  while  shade  should 
be  preserved,  the  forest  should  not  be  allowed  to  grow 


162  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

too  dense  around  military  habitations.  Besides  its  well- 
known  effect  on  floods  and  water-supply,  denudation  of 
forest  land  makes  the  extremes  of  temperature  more  marked, 
but  there  is  a  general  rise.  Where  trees  cut  off  sunlight  and 
air  from  a  domicile  and  make  it  dark  and  damp  they  do  harm, 

but  they  should  be  removed  only  with  judgment; 

and  in  establishing  a  permanent  post  no  more 
trees  should  be  removed  than  are  absolutely  necessary,  until 
time  shows  which  can  be  spared.  Beautiful  parade-grounds 
have  been  desolated  from  the  presumed  necessity  of  a  drill 
whose  normal  development  is  individual  initiative  with  every 
advantage  of  cover.  Some  officers  from  imperfect  knowledge 
dread  making  camp  in  the  woods,  and  always  select  open 
fields  when  available.  To  be  scorched  by  the  summer  sun 
Camps  in  and  torn  by  the  winter  storm  are  equally  hurtful, 
the  woods  The  Romans  habitually  encamped  under  trees  and, 
with  consideration  of  the  character  of  the  forest,  their  ex- 
ample is  generally  good.  All  vegetation  extracts  water  from 
the  ground  and  finally  evaporates  it  through  the  leaves,  thus 
drying  the  soil.  An  oak  evaporates  more  than  eight  times  the 
Evaporation  precipitation  that  occurs  under  the  spread  of  its 
through  foliage;  the  eucalyptus,  which  grows  only  in  frost- 
foliage  jegg  ciimates,  evaporates  eleven  times  the  rainfall; 
and,  according  to  Stockbridge,  one  acre  of  sunflowers  exhales 
during  the  growing  period,  the  prodigious  amount  of  more 
than  twelve  and  a  half  millions  of  pounds  of  water.  In  this 
Sunflower,  wav  moist  regions  may  be  effectively  drained  and 
eucalyptus,  made  unfit  for  mosquitoes  to  breed  in.  Besides 
mosquitoes  ^g  efficjency  m  diminishing  soil-moisture,  the 
eucalyptus  is  so  repugnant  to  the  mosquito  that  the  insect 
will  not  approach  it,  and  it  affords  a  perfect  refuge  from  that 
pest  as  a  bivouac. 

As  a  summary  of  the  more  important  features  relating  to 
permanent  sites,  these  points  may  be  remembered:  Avoid 
soil-moisture  in  excess,  ground-water  from  decomposing  or- 
ganic matter,  prevailing  winds  that  bear  mosquitoes,  exces- 


SOILS  AND  SITES  163 

sive  elevation,  and  unnecessary  exposure  to  extremes  of  tem- 
perature.    Drain  deeply  except  in  impermeable  rock;  carry 
off   storm- water;  clear  away  brush,  except  about    summary 
marshes;    if  practicable  cultivate  grass  and  keep    as  to  sites 
it  short  over  adjacent  ground;  remove  trees  only  after  care- 
ful consideration;  make  the  ground  actually  built  upon  proof 
against  invasion  by  air  or  water,  or,  in  warm  climates,  raise 
the  houses  on  piers;  and  remove  all  refuse  that  may  pollute 
the  soil. 


XXI 

BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  CONSTRUCTION 

For  sanitary  reasons  no  military  post  should  stand  near  the 
base  of  a  hill,  on  account  of  the  course  of  the  subsoil  water; 
Foundation  and  where  a  barrack  has  higher  ground  behind  it 
drains  there  should  be  trenches  deeper  than  the  founda- 

tion to  protect  it  from  the  water  under  the  surface  making 
its  way  to  a  lower  level  that  otherwise  would  be  intercepted 
and  held  by  the  cellar  wall.  These  trenches  well  filled  with 
loose  stones  form  blind  drains  to  conduct  the  water  to  a  lower 
point  of  escape.  Indeed,  in  all  cases  it  is  better  to  lay  such 
drains  immediately  around  but  lower  than  the  foundation, 
and  this  especially  if  the  soil  be  clayey  or  charged  with  springs. 
Foundation  walls  below  ground  should  be  laid  in  mortar  of 
cement  and  sand  and  be  smooth  on  both  faces.  It  is  an  error 
Foundation  to  build  cellar  walls  directly  against  the  side  of  the 
walls  excavation  (although  it  may  cost  less),  and  a 

space  outside  the  wall  should  be  filled  with  coarse  gravel. 
This  will  lead  rain  that  strikes  the  house  wall,  and  particularly 
water  that  soaks  through  the  ground,  downward  into  the 
drain  at  the  foot  or  into  the  lower  soil,  as  the  case  may  be. 
When  cellar  walls  are  laid  dry  or  are  slightly  ''pointed"  on 
the  inside  the  stonework  is  liable  to  dislocation  by  freezing, 
with  the  risk  that  the  water  will  pass  through.  Sandstone, 
soft  limestone,  and  brick  absorb  water  freely,  and  when  either 
is  used  a  coat  of  melted  tar  should  be  applied  to  the  outer 
side  below  the  surface  and  a  damp-proof  course  of  lead  or 
other  non-conductor  be  carefully  introduced  above  the  level 
of  the  ground  to  check  the  rise  of  moisture  through  capillary 
attraction.  A  source  of  dampness  often  overlooked  is  the 
rebound  of  rain  water  from  the  eaves  splashing  against  the 
foot  of  walls.  On  that  account  absorbent  dwelling  walls 

164 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  CONSTRUCTION      165 

should  be  water-proofed  exteriorly  for  a  couple  of  feet  above 
ground.  In  theory  everywhere,  and  certainly  always  in  damp 

localities,  the  cellar  floors  should  be  made  proof 

•  •  •  A  jji   j      i  Cellar  floors 

against  rising  moisture  by  weil-puddled  clay  or 

concrete.  Common  cement  is  neither  gas-tight  nor  water- 
tight under  moderate  pressure,  and  where  a  water-soaked 
locality  is  built  upon,  as  sometimes  must  be,  the  hydrostatic 
pressure  acting  upon  the  sub-cellar  water  is  considerable. 
Where  there  are  no  cellars,  the  surface  under  the  floors  should 
be  impervious  and  there  should  be  enough  clear  space  between 
the  floor  and  the  ground  for  efficient  policing.  All  these  re- 
quirements are  frequently  omitted  under  the  plea  of  economy, 
but  company  officers  should  be  familiar  with  them  and  remem- 
ber their  importance  when  barracks  are  reputed  unhealthy. 
When  not  built  of  perforated  or  hollow  brick,  or  double  with 

an  intervening  air-chamber,  house  walls  should  be 

House  walls 
furred  for  the  sake  of  the  non-conducting  air-space 

as  well  as  plastered,  all  to  avoid  dampness.  Common  stone 
and  brick  are  very  absorbent,  and  unless  intercepted,  moisture 
from  rain  passes  directly  through,  making  the  rooms  damp 
and  cold.  With  thin  walls  of  any  material  the  interior  is 
warm  in  summer  and  cold  in  winter. 

In  rainless  regions  very  comfortable  houses  that  are  warm 
in  winter  and  cool  in  summer  are  made  of  sun-dried  brick 
(adobe).     Their  walls  are  necessarily  very  thick 
and  they  should  be  coated  with  mud  plaster.     The 
roof  has  a  broad  overhang  on  account  of  possible  showers. 
Where  worn  by  occasional  storm  they  are  easily  repaired.     In 
a  heavily   wooded    country  the  log   house,    best 
square-hewn,  is  superior  to  one  of  sawed  timber, 
which  is  quite  sure  to  be  unseasoned  and  full  of  crevices. 
For  provisional  quarters,  which  often  outlive  their  original 
purpose,  the  cheap  balloon-frame  is  hastily  thrown 
up.     Permanent  barracks  should  not  be  wooden. 
Brick,   usually  costly  at  first,    is  the  cheapest  in  the   end, 
always   provided   that  additional   quarters    are    built   when 


166  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  garrison  is  to  be  increased,  so  that  more  men  are  not 
crowded  into  the  already  appropriated  space.  A  satisfactory 
barrack  for  really  temporary  use  in  moderate  climates  is  the 
miscalled  pavilion.  This  is  a  one-story  rough  wooden  build- 
ing quartering  a  company  or  half-company.  The  floor  is 
near,  but  does  not  rest  upon,  the  ground.  It  has  numerous 
windows,  at  least  four  doors,  and  in  winter  ridge 
ventilation.  Pavilions  are  provisional  quarters  for 
camps  of  rendezvous  when  tentage  is  unobtainable  or  inap- 
plicable. In  the  tropics  bamboo  and  nipa  make  comfortable 
tentative  barracks.  These  are  neither  costly  nor  durable,  and 
when  the  permanent  occupation  of  a  post  is  determined  they 
Tropical  should  give  way  to  brick,  stone,  or  cement  blocks, 
barracks  jn  earthquake  regions  the  construction  should  be 
of  wood.  In  bamboo  quarters  care  is  to  be  taken  to  prevent 
the  entrance  of  water  into  the  natural  compartments  of  the 
joints,  which  otherwise  would  afford  domestic  breeding-places 
for  the  mosquito.  Tropical  barracks  should  not  have  flat 
roofs,  unless  they  are  double  with  an  ample  intervening  air- 
space. All  barracks  in  hot  climates,  at  home  or  abroad, 
should  be  raised  on  piers  sufficiently  for  the  free  circulation 
of  air  beneath,  and  they  should  have  very  broad  verandas  on 
all  sides. 

Besides  occupying  healthful  sites  and  constructed  of  proper 
material,  the  essential  conditions  of  barracks  are  dry  ness, 
Essential  warmth,  light,  floor-space,  and  air-supply.  Case- 
conditions  mates  are  necessarily  dark  and  generally  are  damp 
and  ill-ventilated.  That  they  are  unfit  for  permanent  occupa- 
tion is  shown  by  the  much  higher  sick-list  they  always  present. 
The  better  permanent  barracks  are  of  two  stories  (except  in 

the  tropics,  where  one  is  preferable),  and  the  squad- 
Two  stones  .  _  i-u 
rooms  should  always  be  on  the  second  floor,  which 

is  less  liable  to  invasion  by  mosquitoes.  Barrack  stairways 
should  be  wide  as  well  as  multiple,  with  broad  steps  and  mod- 
erate risers.  Barrack  buildings  must  always  be  arranged  to 
receive  free  access  of  light  and  air  on  all  sides.  That  is,  one 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  CONSTRUCTION      167 

building  should  on  no  account  cast  its  shadow  upon  another, 
except  possibly  at  an  end  of  the  day,  nor  intercept  a  free 
supply  of  air.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  pre-  Light  and 
serving  the  primitive  and  traditional  hollow  square  air 
in  the  arrangement  of  individual  buildings.  These  must  be 
placed  with  due  regard  to  military  convenience  for  assembly 
and  drill,  but  their  relation  to  sunlight  and  the  prevailing 
winds  should  be  such  as  to  secure  the  utmost  advantage  of 
each.  Parkes  advises  the  long  axis  of  barracks  to  be  north 
and  south,  so  that  the  sun  may  fall  on  both  sides  of  the  build- 
ing; but  when  our  simpler  buildings  face  the  south  the  sunlight 
sufficiently  floods  the  squad-rooms  and  they  are  swept  by  the 
southerly  winds.  At  least  no  sleeping-room  should  be  so 
situated  that  it  cannot  be  thus  purified.  A  southern  exposure 
is  not  only  warmer  in  winter  but,  on  account  of  the  prevailing 
winds,  at  least  in  the  interior,  is  cooler  in  summer.  When  for 
want  of  space  barracks  must  be  placed  somewhat  in  column, 
the  arrangement  should  be  en  echelon.  But  within  permanent 
defensive  works  sanitary  preferences  must  sometimes  yield 
to  military  necessities;  nevertheless  the  larger  forts  can  usually 
concede  both  requirements,  if  they  are  recognized  in  season. 
The  more  elaborate  buildings  for  the  larger  garrisons  should 
be  planned  by  competent  architects,  not  mere  Elaborate 
draughtsmen;  and  these  architects  should  be  well  buildings 
acquainted  with  the  peculiarities  and  requirements  of  military 
occupation.  Once  planned,  the  specifications  should  be  fol- 
lowed in  detail  and  changes  after  acceptance  and  occupation 
should  be  made  only  when  authorized  by  competent  authority 
after  their  importance  is  recognized.  But  however  well 
planned,  no  squad-room  should  receive  more  than  Capacity  of 
its  sanitary  number  of  occupants.  That  number  squad-room 
together  with  the  available  cubic  feet  should  be  conspicuously 
painted  upon  the  door.  There  is  a  constant  temptation  to 
overcrowd,  to  make  a  military,  not  a  sanitary,  unit  the  measure 
of  capacity,  and  to  assign  a  company  or  a  half-company  as 
such,  instead  of  a  fixed  number  of  men,  to  an  apartment, 


168  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

forgetting  that  when  a  company's  quota  is  increased  by  order 
the  dormitory  is  not  correspondingly  elastic.  It  is  better  to 
assign  surplus  men  to  cots  on  verandas,  or  to  some  other 
chamber,  than  even  temporarily  to  violate  that  sanitary  rule. 
Besides,  emergency  violations  make  an  easy  road  to  habitual 
evasion. 

Officers'  quarters  should  face  nearly  south,  or  should  have  as 
much  of  such  an  exposure  as  possible;  and  when  two  sets  are, 
Officers'  unfortunately,  under  one  roof,  they  should  not  face 
quarters  east  or  west  if  it  may  be  avoided;  for  then  the 
northerly  set  will  be  relatively  cold  in  winter  and  uncomfort- 
able in  summer.  In  planning  the  larger  non-defensive  posts, 
or  cantonments,  intra-communication  will  be  facil- 
itated and  the  course  of  the  winds  be  favorably 
modified  by  qualifying  the  formal  checker-board  system  of 
roads  by  the  introduction  of  a  proportion  of  diagonal  and 
curvilinear  routes.  (This  is  particularly  desirable  in  planning 
new  towns  likely  to  grow,  where  officers'  advice  occasionally 
is  asked.) 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


XXII 

BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  AIR  AND  ITS  CONTAMI- 
NATION 

Men  Sit  rest  within  doors,  equally  with  those  in  active 
exercise  on  the  drill-ground  or  elsewhere,  require  more  space 
than  the  few  cubic  feet  occupied  by  their  bodies,  space  neces- 
because  they  are  alive.  They  cannot  be  stacked  sary 
like  arms  nor  piled  like  balls.  The  fact  is  familiar,  but  the 
essential  reason  is  not  always  recognized.  We  know,  his- 
torically, that  when  146  men  were  confined  over-night  at 
Calcutta  in  an  enclosure  18  feet  square  with  two  small  win- 
dows, 123  died  before  morning,  and  that  the  Fatal  crowd- 
majority  of  the  23  survivors  soon  perished  from  ing 
fever.  Still,  each  person  thus  incarcerated  had  two  and  a 
third  feet  standing-room,  and  a  man's  health  would  not  be 
impaired  should  he  stand  out  of  doors  in  a  hot  night  on  a 
block  no  larger.  Health  depends  more  upon  the  quality  of 
the  air  we  breathe  than  upon  the  character  of  the  food  we  eat, 
and  that  quality  rapidly  deteriorates  after  respiration  when 
not  renewed.  If  a  man  were  enclosed  in  an  air-tight  recepta- 
cle, no  matter  how  capacious,  he  would  ultimately  die.  This 
would  not  be  through  suffocation  in  the  stricter  sense,  but 
through  the  increasing  contamination  of  the  air  to  whose  use 
he  was  limited  and  the  final  exhaustion  of  its  vital  quality. 

Air  is  a  mixture  of  twenty-one  parts  of  oxygen  (0),  the 
vital  agent,  and  seventy-nine  of  nitrogen  (N),  the  diluent, 
practically  one  to  four.     It  also  carries  from  one- 
two-hundredth    to    one-sixtieth    of    its    bulk    of 
watery  vapor,  and  it  contains  normally  four  parts  of  carbon 
dioxide  (CO2)  in  ten  thousand  (.0004)  and  traces  of  argon  and 
helium.     When  one  inspires  air,  oxygen,  which  is  essential  for 


170  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  very  act  of  living,  passes  out  of  it  into  the  blood  directly 
through  the  walls  of  the  capillary  blood-vessels,  which  cover 
both  sides  of  hundreds  of  square  feet  of  the  delicate  mem- 
.  brane  that  makes  up  the  lungs,  where  it  is  taken 

up  by  the  red  corpuscles  that  float  in  the  current. 
At  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  way  (by  osmosis)  carbon 
dioxide  (CO2)  escapes  from  the  blood  into  the  air.  This  carbon 
dioxide  is  a  product  of  the  physiological  disintegration  of  the 
animal  tissues,  which  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  life.  The 
cessation  of  molecular  activity  is  death.  In  its  passage  from 
the  blood  the  carbon  dioxide  is  accompanied  by  watery  vapor 
Contami-  and  sometimes  by  foul  gases  from  waste  too  long 
nation  retained,  so  that  in  this  way  the  body  is  in  part 

freed  from  its  own  dross  but  at  the  expense  of  vitiating  the 
surrounding  atmosphere.  Besides  this  contamination  through 
the  mere  act  of  breathing,  the  air  also  receives  from  the  sur- 
face of  the  body  waste  held  in  solution  by  the  perspiration, 
dead  particles  of  worn-out  skin,  and  volatile  organic  matters 
inclusive,  at  times,  of  those  from  decaying  teeth  and  other 
ill-kept  organs.  When  invalids  are  present,  as  in  a  hospital, 
the  ratio  of  contamination  is  vastly  increased,  particularly  by 
the  pathogenetic  output  of  communicable  disease.  It  is, 
moreover,  evident  that  every  inspiration  actually  withdraws 
Oxygen  con-  from  the  general  stock  and  consumes  a  specific 
sumed  amount  of  oxygen  independently  of  that  con- 

taminated and  rendered  less  available  by  expiration.  It  is 
to  be  accepted  as  an  ultimate  fact  that  animal  tissues  must 
constantly  receive,  through  the  blood,  oxygen  from  the  at- 
mosphere for  incorporation  with  them,  and  there  must  be 
a  corresponding  release  of  carbon  dioxide  from  the  blood,  or 
death  will  occur,  of  which  a  prompt  and  complete  demonstra- 
tion is  the  act  of  strangling.  When  the  renewal  of  oxygen 
stops  life  ceases.  As  the  available  air  becomes  increasingly 
debased,  although  its  original  volume  may  not  be  diminished, 
its  oxygen  is  in  part  replaced  and  in  part  polluted  by  these 
and  other  impurities,  and  in  proportion  as  these  reenter  or 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  AIR        171 

for  the  first  time  reach  the  blood  an  equal  amount  of  oxy- 
gen is  excluded  and,  as  important,  the  vital  functions  are 
depressed   until   illness   or   death   ensues.     The   most   easily 
recognized  of  these  impurities  is  the  carbon  diox-    Carbon 
ide  (C02),  and  it  is  unnecessary  for  the  purposes    dioxide 
of  dormitory  sanitation  to   determine  whether  this  is  itself 
poisonous  or  its  presence  in  a  squad-room  is  simply  an  index 
of  other  impurities. 

Warm-blooded  animals  immersed  in  carbon  dioxide  gas 
become  unconscious,  but  they  revive  after  removal  not  too 
long  delayed.  Air  may  be  breathed  with  impunity  when  it 
contains  many  times  the  normal  amount  of  carbon  dioxide, 
as  at  certain  baths  and  bottling  establishments  where  it 
reaches  150  parts  in  10,000.  It  is  probable  that  a  man  who 
loses  his  life  by  plunging  into  a  reservoir  of  carbon  dioxide, 
as  a  deep  well  or  other  pit  in  which  there  are  no  directly 
poisonous  gases,  is  simply  drowned  as  he  would  be  in  water, 
by  the  exclusion  of  air  from  his  lungs.  The  discomfort  that 
persons  endure  in  crowded  ill-ventilated  rooms  is  said  not  to 
be  due  to  excess  of  carbon  dioxide,  to  bacteria,  nor  as  a  rule  to 
dust,  but  to  overheating  and  to  disagreeable  odors.  Crowded 
(Bergey,  Mitchell  and  Billings.)  The  musty  odor  rooms 
there  is  probably  due  to  the  volatile  products  of  the  mouth 
and  skin.  On  the  other  hand  Arloing  holds  an  unconfirmed 
belief  that  he  has  secured  a  highly  poisonous  agent  from 

human  sweat,  which  will  help  to  account  for  some  a 

,  .  .  Sweat-poison 

of    the   very   depressing  consequences  associated 

with  crowds  in  confined  spaces  under  high  temperature,  with 
the  air  saturated  with  aqueous  vapor.     But  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  disagreeable  smells  as  such  directly  cause  disease, 
although,  as  Harrington  suggests,  they  may  depress 
the  general  health  of  those  unaccustomed  to  them 
by  diminishing  the  appetite.    But  an  avoidable  offensive  smell, 
if  only  a  warning  of  some  other  condition,  is  not  to  be  toler- 
ated in  a  habitation.    On  the  other  hand  it  is  strenuously  con- 
tended  that   "the   immediate   dangers   from   breathing   air 


172  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

highly  vitiated  by  respiration  arise  from  the  excess  of  car- 
bonic acid  [CO2]  and  deficiency  of  oxidation  and  not  from  any 
special  poison."  (Haldane  and  Smith.) 

However  all  this  may  be,  the  recognized  increase  in  dis- 
ease and  mortality  among  those  living  in  crowded  and 
unventilated  apartments  is  probably  due  to  the  depraved 
Close  and  and  unrefreshed  atmosphere  lessening  the  general 
dusty  rooms  vitality  and  weakening  the  bactericidal  powers  resi- 
dent in  the  upper  air-passages.  Consequently  as  such  rooms 
are  specially  apt  to  accumulate  germ-laden  dust,  their  debili- 
tated occupants  are  very  liable  to  be  infected  with  and  to 
succumb  to  pneumonia  and  tuberculous  diseases  of  the  lungs. 
Such  lodgings  now  are  to  be  found  only  in  civil  life,  but  where 
they  do  exist  they  show  what  dense  occupancy  and  want  of 
care  would  as  surely  lead  to  among  troops.  In  fact  where 
repeated  cases  of  sore  throat  occur  in  barracks  deficient  air- 
space and  imperfect  ventilation  may  always  be  suspected. 
Effects  of  Besides  gradual  deterioration  in  health,  there  are 
overcrowd-  conspicuous  instances  of  acute  poisoning  by  posi- 
mg  lively  foul  air  combined  with  the  lack  of  fresh  air. 

For  instance,  besides  the  notorious  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta, 
already  cited,  there  are  the  cases  of  the  steamer  Londonderry, 
where  72  out  of  200  died  while  confined  in  a  small  cabin,  and  of 
the  300  Austrian  prisoners  held  in  a  very  small  cellar  after 
Austerlitz,  of  whom  260  died  "in  a  short  time."     The  military 
lesson  here  is  the  obvious  one  concerning  prisoners  of  war.    Not 
that  such  prisoners   are  likely  to  be  thus  closely 
packed  at  our  hands,  but  that  they  should  not  be 
overlooked  even  temporarily,  and  their  necessities  for  reason- 
able air  and  exercise  should  always  be  considered.     It  is  also 
to  be  remembered  that  horses  transported  in  un- 
ventilated cars  have  been  killed  under  precisely 
similar  conditions.     Other  examples  of  the  poisoning  of  man 
Crowd  by  man  are  the  fever  of  the  slave-ships,  the  camp 

poisoning  fever  and  the  jail  fever  of  former  times  but  always 
ready  to  reappear,  the  immigrant  fever  of  the  Irish  packets 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS  :  AIR       173 

and  the  typhus  of  to-day,  doubtless  associated  with  specific 
causes  but  fostered  and  intensified  by  direct  overcrowding 
and  want  of  ventilation.  But  these  very  grave  conditions  are 
not  often  met  with  now.  What  is  usually  found  is  deficient 
nutrition,  leading  at  first  to  anaemia  or  impoverished  blood, 
then  to  loss  of  vigor,  and  then  to  general  diminution  of  resist- 
ance to  disease.  In  barracks,  with  which  here  we  are  chiefly 
concerned,  commonly  the  direct  consequences  of  the  presence 
of  a  number  of  occupants  are  obvious,  but  they  Conditions 
should  not  be  strikingly  so;  sewer-air  and  other  in  barracks 
direct  poisons,  carbon  monoxide  (CO)  excluded,  are  rare;  con- 
tagious diseases  except  in  the  very  first  stage  are  . 

.H  OS  pit  ft  IS 

seldom  found.     But  in  hospitals  the  emanations 

from  diseased  bodies  are  constantly  present  and  require  to 

be  neutralized  and  diluted  or  removed. 

From  the  preceding  it  follows  that  the  less  pure  oxygen 
there  is  available  for  inspiration  and  the  more  the  air  to  be 
inspired  is  already  clogged  with  waste  products,  by  so  much 
the    fundamental    physiological    functions    that    depend    on 
normal  respiration  are  impaired.     Hence  a  prime  duty  of 
those  having  the  care  of  men  is  to  make  sure  that    officers' 
they  have  an   abundance   of   unpolluted    air   to    duty 
breathe.     Now,  it  is  a  frequent  but  not  a  necessary  concomi- 
tant of  civilization,  that  the  inmates  of  ordinary  habitations  — 
and  this  applies  to  officers  as  well  as  to  the  enlisted  men  — 
may  suffer  from  the  diminution  of  the  respirable    insanitary 
quality  of  the  air  by  the  increase  of  carbon  dioxide    dwellings 
in  it  and  the  presence  of  depressing  emanations  from  human 
bodies;  gases,  more  or  less  poisonous,  products  of  combustion; 
the   compounds,   sometimes  odorless   and  sometimes  giving 
out  smell,  collectively  known  as  sewer-air;  and  those  invisible 
particulate  emanations,  unrecognized  except  by  their  results, 
that  cause  the  infective  diseases. 

The  constant  and  inevitable  contamination  of  dormitory 
air  is  carbon  dioxide.  In  repose  a  healthy  man  breathes  about 
fifteen  times  a  minute,  somewhat  less  frequently  when  sleep- 


174  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

ing  profoundly,  a  little  oftener  when  actively  employed.  He 
takes  into  his  lungs  about  two-thirds  of  a  pint  of  air  at  a  time 
Carbon  and  the  air  once  breathed  loses  five  per  cent,  of  its 
dioxide  oxygen  and  gains  a  little  more  than  five  per  cent, 
of  carbon  dioxide.  This  is  at  the  rate  of  six-tenths  of  a  cubic 
foot  an  hour,  or  from  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  in  the  twenty-four 
Watery  hours.  A  man  also  discharges  from  his  lungs  and 
vapor  skin  in  the  course  of  the  day  from  twenty-five  to 

forty  ounces  of  water,  which  requires  about  two  hundred  and 
ten  cubic  feet  of  air  per  hour  to  maintain  as  vapor.  Besides 
the  fresh  air  that  is  consumed  and  that  which  is  altered  by  the 
act  of  respiration,  much  air  may  be  consumed  and  objection- 
Contamina-  a^^e  compounds  thrown  into  the  apartment  by  the 
tionby  combustion  of  fuel.  These  products  are  usually 
heating  conducted  into  the  outer  air  through  flues,  and  of 
course  they  are  not  found  in  rooms  heated  by  steam  or  hot- 
water  coils,  and  they  should  not  be  in  the  hot  air  supplied 
through  registers.  But  where  stoves  are  used  in  the  sleeping- 
rooms  there  is  some  risk,  and  furnaces  occasionally  leak  gas 
into  the  air  pipes.  The  combustion  of  gas,  oil,  or  candles  to 
Contamina-  furnish  light  also  vitiates  the  air.  Every  foot  of  or- 
tion  through  dinary  illuminating  gas  when  burned  produces  half 
lighting  a  c^ic  f00t  Of  carbon  dioxide,  and  each  burner 
gives  out  from  three  to  six  feet  of  gas  per  hour,  depending  upon 
its  form,  and  therefore  throws  into  the  atmosphere  from  one 
and  a  half  to  three  feet  of  this  product  hourly.  To  dilute  it 
properly,  every  foot  of  CO3  requires  one  thousand  feet  of  fresh 
air.  Every  pound  of  mineral  oil  that  is  burned  requires  eight 
thousand  feet  of  air  for  its  dilution.  Candles  yield  still  more 
carbon  dioxide  in  proportion  to  the  light  they  supply.  Ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  persons,  for  every  16-candle  power  kerosene 
vitiates  as  much  air  as  seven  adults;  an  ordinary  gas  burner 
as  much  as  five  adults;  a  Welsbach  burner  as  much  as  three. 
Electricity  as  an  illuminant  has  no  influence  upon  the  con- 
stitution of  the  air. 

Besides  the  carbon  dioxide  (CO2),  a  very  dangerous  carbon 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  AIR        175 

compound,  carbon  monoxide  (CO),  sometimes  escapes  into 
occupied  apartments.  Carbon  monoxide  is  actively  poison- 
ous in  that  it  changes  the  blood  by  rendering  carbon 
the  red  corpuscles  incapable  of  carrying  the  monoxide 
vitalizing  oxygen  through  the  body.  Of  it  "less  than  a 
quarter  of  one  per  cent,  by  volume  in  the  air  will  cause 
poisoning,  and  but  one  per  cent,  is  rapidly  fatal  to  animal 
life."  (Harrington.)  An  excess  of  carbon  dioxide  inspired 
replaces  oxygen  and  also  prevents  a  sufficient  release  of  that 
which  forms  in  the  blood,  but  the  victim  usually  will  re- 
cover when  pure  air  is  substituted  for  the  impure.  That  is  the 
case  with  carbon  dioxide,  but  carbon  monoxide  so  alters 
the  physical  character  of  the  blood  that  it  cannot  take  up 
the  oxygen  even  when  the  sufferer  is  supplied  with  fresh  air. 
The  blue  flame  given  off  when  coal  is  freshly  supplied  to  a 
stove  indicates  the  generation  of  CO.  Carbon  monoxide  is 
entirely  inodorous,  and  thus  so  much  the  more  dangerous 
because  it  is  recognized  only  by  its  effects.  It  has  the  peculiar 
faculty  of  passing  freely  through  red-hot  cast  iron  as  well  as 
the  ordinary  one  of  leaking  from  the  joints  of  stoves,  so  that 
the  primitive  heating  apparatus  in  temporary  buildings  may 
be  fertile  in  its  supply.  This  is  the  fatal  agent  in  the  fumes 
from  burning  charcoal,  where  it  is  given  off  abundantly. 
Both  water-gas  and  acetylene  gas  are  very  rich  in  Acetylene 
carbon  monoxide  and  are  correspondingly  danger-  gas  and 
ous  if  there  is  any  leakage  from  the  fixtures.  One  water-§fas 
part  of  acetelyne  gas  to  12  of  air  is  explosive.  Carbon  mon- 
oxide accompanies,  but  in  much  less  degree,  the  ordinary 
illuminating  coal-gas,  with  which  it  may  escape  through  im- 
perfect joints,  and  it  is  additionally  generated  when  the  com- 
bustion is  imperfect.  It  also  is  liberated  in  the  imperfect 
combustion  of  mineral  oil.  Much  gas  escapes  from  cracked 
mains,  and,  as  already  noted,  this  is  liable  to  drift  under  the 
frozen  or  tightly  paved  surface  into  cellars,  where  sometimes 
death  results. 

It  has  been  explained  that  the  normal  proportion  of  carbon 


176  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

dioxide  in  the  atmosphere  is  4  parts  in  10,000.  Now  should 
there  be  no  accidental  source  of  pure  carbon  dioxide — and 
ordinarily  there  is  none  in  barracks — all  in  excess  of  this  is 
derived  from  respiration,  and  it  is  called  "the  carbonic  im- 
purity." But  just  as  the  proportion  rises  so  do  the  other 
impurities  from  living  bodies  increase,  consequently  the 
Carbonic  amount  of  carbonic  impurity  is  an  index  of  con- 
impurity  tamination,  and  it  is  chiefly  as  such  index  that 
this  excess  has  a  sanitary  value.  The  danger  of  living  in  ill- 
ventilated  rooms  whose  carbonic  impurity  is  high  is  much 
more  serious  than  would  follow  inhaling  merely  a  proportion 
of  carbon  dioxide  equivalent  to  that  expired.  Within  reason- 
able limits  the  carbonic  impurity,  like  the  headlight  on  a 
locomotive,  is  not  itself  dangerous  but  it  is  a  warning  of 
danger  to  those  within  its  influence;  and  as  a  moderate 
excess  over  the  normal  must  be  found  in  every  inhabited 
apartment,  this  is  designated  up  to  six  or  seven  parts  as  "the 
allowable  impurity."  When  the  impurity  is  greater  than 
6  or  7  parts  in  10,000  it  is  usually  a  sign  that  the  contamina- 
tion is  combined  with  the  other  conditions  that  make  up 
crowd  poisoning.  Excessive  combustion  of  oil  or  gas  in  an 
ill-ventilated  and  sparsely  inhabited  room  might  lead  to  an 
excess  of  carbonic  impurity  without  implying  crowd  poison- 
ing; but  by  the  exercise  of  ordinary  judgment  officers,  for 
whom  this  work  is  prepared,  could  determine  the  essential 
condition  without  elaborate  analysis.  In  fact  to  distinguish 
between  the  carbon  dioxide  developed  in  respiration  and  that 
generated  by  combustion  would  probably  require  a  chemical 
or  other  accurate  knowledge  of  the  associated  compounds, 
and  would  be  of  no  practical  value  under  ordinary  garrison 
conditions. 

The  most  convenient  practical  test  to  determine  over- 
crowding, or  insufficient  ventilation  in  the  presence  of  living 
Vital  im-  bodies,  that  in  the  last  reduction  yield  the  same 
purity  result,  which  may  be  called  "vital  impurity,"  is  the 

normal  sense  of  smell.    A  "close"  or  "musty"  to  say  nothing 


BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  AIR       177 

of  an  offensive  smell  betrays  the  presence  of  this  depressing 
aerial  poison  and  means  harm.  To  one  entering  from  a  stay 
in  the  outer  air  the  recognition  of  any  odor  indicates  six 

parts   of    carbon   dioxide   to   ten    thousand,    in- 

Odor  test 
eluding  that  which  is  normally  present.     Carbon 

dioxide  is  not  odorous,  but  experience  shows  that  the  two 
additional  parts  imply  the  presence  of  other  perceptible  con- 
taminations. A  very  oppressive  odor  means  more  than 
twelve  parts  of  carbon  dioxide  and  its  concomitants  to  ten 
thousand  of  air,  and  this  is  independent  of  the  products  of 
combustion  (which  of  course  debase  the  quality  of  air  for 
breathing)  and  refers  only  to  animal  emanations.  The 
simplest  chemical  determination  of  the  relative  amount  of 
carbon  dioxide  present  in  the  air,  one  that  any  company 
officer  can  operate,  is  Smith's  lime-water  test.  As  Lime-water 
condensed  from  Munson,  it  is  arranged  thus :  test  for  C02 
Six  clean  well-stoppered  bottles,  ranging  from  100  to  450  c.c. 
capacity,  filled  with  distilled  water,  have  the  air  to  be  ex- 
amined introduced  by  pumping  with  a  small  bulb-syringe  or 
by  pouring  out  the  water.  From  a  bottle  of  clear  fresh 
lime-water  15  c.c.  are  introduced  by  a  pipette  into  the 
smallest  bottle  of  air.  This  is  then  closed  and  vigorously 
shaken.  If  turbidity  occurs,  there  are  at  least  sixteen  parts 
of  carbon  dioxide  in  ten  thousand.  If  the  water  remains 
clear  the  other  bottles  may  be  treated  in  succession,  the 
occurrence  of  turbidity  in  each  corresponding  to  this  scale: 
200  c.c.  =  12,  250  c.c.  =  10,  300  c.c.  =  8,  350  c.c.  =  7, 
450  c.c.  =  less  than  6  per  ten  thousand.  Turbidity  is  recog- 
nized when  a  pencilled  cross  on  a  piece  of  paper  gummed  with 
the  face  against  the  lower  part  of  the  bottle  becomes  invisi- 
ble through  the  water. 


XXIII 

BARRACKS  AND  QUARTERS:  VENTILATION  AND  CARE 

It  is  the  special  object  of  sanitary  effort  inside  the  dormitory 
to  keep  the  carbon  dioxide  within  the  recognized  allowable 
Air  of  squad-  limit  of  impurity.  The  dormitory  air  is  the  men's 
rooms  sole  dependence  for  breathing  during  much  of  the 

time,  while  they  themselves  are  the  chief  and  constant  causes 
of  its  contamination.  The  problem  is  to  give  them  a  full 
supply  of  sufficiently  pure  air,  notwithstanding  their  very 
presence  progressively  increases  the  difficulty.  Every  man 
actually  breathes  out  from  his  lungs  about  three  hundred  and 
thirty  cubic  feet  of  air  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  This  is 
equal  to  twenty-seven  and  a  half  cubic  feet,  of  which  six- 
tenths  of  a  foot  is  carbon  dioxide,  per  hour.  Out  of  doors  the 
contamination  would  be  dissipated  spontaneously.  Or  if  the 
man  breathed  from  and  into  separate  reservoirs,  there  would 
be  no  problem.  But  in  fact  every  man  in  an  apartment  is 
using  air  which,  if  not  constantly  renewed,  may  already  have 
been  used  by  some  other  man,  in  an  extreme  case  by  every 
other  man,  and  simultaneously  he  is  corrupting  the  air-supply 
of  his  companions.  If  the  expired  air  acquired  a  hue,  as  blue 
or  red,  its  distribution  would  need  no  explanation.  But  the 
contaminated  air  is  imperceptible  to  any  sense,  excepting  that 
of  smell  after  it  has  been  charged  with  organic  waste.  Con- 
sequently company  officers  frequently  fail  to  recognize  the 
evil,  as  distinguished  from  the  merely  unpleasant,  effects  of 
overcrowding,  for  they  appear  slowly.  Nevertheless  these 
evils  not  only  exist  but  numbers  seem  to  intensify  them,  so 
"that  the  more  men  are  placed  together  the  greater  should  be 
the  air-supply  per  head."  After  the  available  air  has  been 
consumed  in  respiration,  it  is  immaterial  whether  the  origi- 

178 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  179 

nal  supply  was  600  or  6000  feet.  Hence  every  sleeping-room 
should  have  not  only  adequate  floor  area  and  sufficient  cubic 
space,  but  also  means  to  dispose  of  the  vitiated  air  and  to  in- 
troduce a  sufficient  quantity  of  fresh  air.  This  change  of  air 
is  ventilation,  and  the  more  complete  it  is  with  the  least  dis- 
comfort to  the  occupants  the  better.  "Perfect  ventilation 

can  be  said  to  have  been  secured  in  an  inhabited 

Ventilation 
room  only  when  any  and  every  person  in  the  room 

takes  into  his  lungs  at  each  respiration  air  of  the  same  com- 
position as  that  surrounding  the  building,  and  no  part  of  which 
has  recently  been  in  his  own  lungs  or  those  of  his  neighbors,  or 
which  consists  of  products  of  combustion  generated  in  the 
building,  while  at  the  same  time  he  feels  no  currents  or  draughts 
of  air  and  is  perfectly  comfortable  as  regards  temperature, 
being  neither  too  hot  nor  too  cold."  (Billings.)  To  obtain 
perfect  ventilation  requires  a  room  of  special  construction 
and  thirty  times  as  much  fuel  as  would  heat  a  room  of  the  same 
size  in  the  ordinary  way;  therefore  this  may  be  disregarded, 
as  being  an  impossible  ideal  for  military  buildings.  But  good 
ventilation,  which  is  attainable,  means  keeping  the  vitiated 
air  diluted  to  the  standard  of  allowable  carbonic  impurity 
(6-7  in  10,000). 

In  brief,  the  problem  of  securing  health  and  comfort  in 
inhabited  rooms  involves  an  adequate  supply  of  fresh  air,  the 
dilution   and  removal  of  those   consequences   of  R 
occupation  which  may  be  called  the  vital  products,  ments  of  air 
the   prevention   of   the   admission   of   deleterious  for  health 
gases  from  the  operations  of  lighting  and  heating  an   com  01 
and  from  waste-pipes,  the  regulation  of  temperature,  and  the 
limitation  and  disposition  of  dust  possibly  burdened  with 
contagion.     A  man  living  by  himself  out  of  doors  would  have 
an  indefinite  amount  of  fresh  air  and,  sufficient  warmth  being 
assumed,  should  meet  with  none  of  the  conditions  just  noted; 
and  it  is  an  object  of  military  sanitation  to  reduce  to  their 
minima  these  conditions  within  doors  as  they  affect  troops. 

The  size  and  shape  of  squad-rooms  bear  distinctly  upon 


180  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

health  as  well  as  upon  administration.  Excepting  for  tern- 
Plan  of  porary  pavilions,  they  should  be  in  the  second 
squad-rooms  story,  when  not  in  the  tropics,  to  avoid  dampness, 
dust,  noise,  and  in  a  degree  flying  insects,  and  to  economize 
space  under  the  same  roof  for  mess-rooms,  amusement-rooms, 
and  offices.  The  two  long  sides,  and  in  hot  climates  one 
end,  should  be  exposed  to  the  air.  Except  in  the  extreme 
north,  every  squad-room  should  have  a  balcony 
or  veranda,  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  wide  accord- 
ing to  the  latitude,  on  all  the  free  sides.  The  verandas  protect 
against  excessive  glare;  if  the  roof  is  not  too  steep  they  do  not 
intercept  necessary  sunlight;  and  they  afford  convenient 
places  where  men  may  lounge  and  amuse  themselves  in  pleas- 
ant weather  and  may  attend  to  such  minor  cares  as  their 
arms  and  clothing,  relieving  the  squad-room  proper  of  un- 
necessary confusion.  A  barrack  without  a  veranda  as  such 
an  adjunct  is*  incomplete.  In  the  tropics  broad  verandas  are 
secondary  living-rooms,  as  well  as  shields  against  the  sun  that 
otherwise  would  beat  upon  the  walls.  No  squad-room  should 

exceed  24  feet  in  width  (perhaps  23  feet  6  inches 
Dimensions 

in  the  clear),  nor  be  less  than  12  nor  more  than 

14  feet  high.  As  a  rule  the  height  above  12  feet  may  be  dis- 
regarded in  estimating  cubic  air-space.  In  the  tropics,  with 
punkas  or  other  mechanical  contrivances  for  displacing  the 
air,  they  may  be  18  or  20  feet  between  floor  and  ceiling. 
Excessive  width  makes  ventilation,  the  complete  dissemina- 
tion of  sunlight,  and  ordinary  cleanliness  more  difficult  to 
obtain.  It  also  creates  a  fictitious  sense  of  capacity,  for  the 
nominal  floor-space  is  not  really  available  and  beds  along 
the  walls  must  be  unduly  approximated  at  the  same  time  the 
central  space  is  wasted.  To  economize  material  is  a  constant 
temptation  to  build  square  squad-rooms.  With  the  width  and 
height  fixed,  the  length  is  regulated  by  the  proposed  number 
of  tenants  or  by  the  requirements  of  administration.  Undue 
length  interferes  with  the  administration  of  a  squad-room,  but 
not  with  its  sanitation  if  the  proper  relation  toward  winter 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  181 

sunlight  and  the  prevailing  summer  winds  is  maintained.  So 
its  size  is  hygienically  important  only  as  conditioning  the 
freedom  and  frequency  with  which  the  vitiated  air  Size  in 
can  be  removed  and  fresh  air  be  introduced,  and  relation  to 
in  temperate  climates  this  is  chiefly  limited  by  the  aur-8UPP17 
discomfort  produced.  It  must  be  conceded  that  a  working 
standard  at  all  approaching  an  ideal  for  the  competent  air- 
supply  of  all  barracks  has  never  been  formulated,  beyond  the 
general  agreement  that  each  man  should  have  at  his  disposal 
3000  cubic  feet  hourly.  Necessarily  the  operation  of  any 
standard  must  be  according  to  a  sliding  scale  which  would 
depend  upon  the  apartment  and  the  locality.  This  not 
because  more  air  or  less  is  consumed  at  one  place  than  at  an- 
other, but  because  the  frequency  of  renewal  is  modified  by  the 
available  cubic  space  per  man,  by  the  temperature,  and  again 
by  the  cost.  The  colder  the  outer  atmosphere  the  more  un- 
comfortable will  be  rapid  renewal  of  unwarmed  air,  the  more 
expensive  will  be  the  heating,  and  the  greater  the  temptation 
to  use  again  air  already  expired.  Air  that  is  changed  more 
rapidly  than  five  times  an  hour  (as  when  the  conventional 
required  3000  feet  per  man  is  supplied  more  frequently  than 
600  feet  every  twelve  minutes,  or  fifty  cubic  feet  per  man  per 
minute)  produces  objectionable  draughts. 

It  is  self-evident  that  there  must  be  a  limit  of  cubical  space 
below  which  an  adequate  air-supply  cannot  be  furnished. 
For  a  room  permanently  occupied  with  ordinary  Area  and 
ventilation,  that  is  for  civilian  workshops  or  cubic  space 
dwellings,  a  capacity  of  1000  cubic  feet  per  head  is  the 
lowest  limit.  For  many  years  the  army  theoretical  standard 
for  healthy  soldiers  in  ordinary  squad-rooms  in  temperate  cli- 
mates has  been  600  cubic  feet  air-space,  based  upon  60  square 
feet  floor-space  per  man,  with  the  expectation  that  the  air 
would  be  renewed  five  times  an  hour  and  thus  furnish  the 
required  3000  feet,  although  frequently  the  actual  allowance 
has  fallen  short.  During  the  same  period  the  space  in  bar- 
racks south  of  36°  N.,  that  is  practically  at  the  stations  in  the 


182  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

United  States  south  of  Virginia,  was  estimated  in  theory  at 
800  and  70  feet  respectively.  Later  the  desire  for  the  tropics 
was  to  secure  from  1500  to  3000  cubic  feet  and  from  75  to 
150  square  feet  according  to  locality.  The  latest  decision  of 
the  constructing  officers  is  reported  to  allow  720  cubic  and 
Present  60  square  feet  in  all  dormitories,  while  the  hope  of 
standards  the  medical  department  is  to  secure  1020  cubic  and 
85  square  feet  in  the  temperate  zone,  and  2000  cubic  and 
100  square  feet  within  the  tropics.  In  the  writer's  judgment 
840  cubic  and  70  square  feet  may  be  accepted  as  desirable 
and  sufficient  outside  the  tropics.  (It  is  of  interest  to  remem- 
ber that  in  the  plains  of  India  the  British  allowance  is  1800 
feet  air-space  and  90  feet  floor-space,  with  the  number  of  men 
never  to  exceed  24.  In  the  United  Kingdom  the  allowance 
ranges  from  500  to  600  cubic  feet  over  50  to  60  square  feet.) 
In  apportioning  the  occupants  to  a  squad-room,  the  maxi- 
mum number  of  beds  is  to  be  determined  strictly  according 
to  the  floor-space,  regardless  of  average  occupation;  but  in 
allowing  for  air-space  it  will  be  legitimate  to  take  account  of 
the  percentage  that  will  be  constantly  absent,  as  on  guard, 
detached,  sick,  on  furlough,  or  otherwise  accounted  for. 
Remembering  that,  it  will  always  be  safe  to  arrange  for  a 
theoretical  air-space  slightly  below  that  which  the  number 
of  beds  would  require,  for  all  of  these  can  never  be  expected 
to  be  filled  at  once  except  on  the  most  special  and  tempo- 
rary occasions.  On  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  expedient  to 
calculate  for  the  renewal  of  air  according  to  the  number  of 
beds,  partly  because  a  constant  absentee  rate  cannot  be  ac- 
curately fixed,  partly  because  thus  a  formal  standard  for 
daily  use  and  for  general  comparison  may  be  more  certainly 
set  up,  but  chiefly  because  it  is  better  for  the  fresh  air  to  be 
somewhat  in  excess  than  to  fall  short  of  actual  need.  It  is 
always  easier  to  diminish  than  to  increase  the  supply. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  the  arangement  of  area,  or 
floor  space,  the  following  example  may  be  considered.  The 
superficies  of  a  room  24  X  70  feet  would  be  1680  square  feet. 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  183 

If  28  men,  were  assigned  to  it,  each  would  have  60  square 
feet.  This  would  represent  a  strip  two  and  one-half  feet 
wide  across  the  room;  or,  the  bedsteads  being  in  paralleio- 
two  rows,  the  space  for  each  individual  would  be  gram  and 
five  feet  by  twelve.  That  is,  every  three-foot  bed  s<luare 
has  one  foot  of  space  on  each  side,  so  that  if  placed  uniformly 
they  would  be  two  feet  apart.  But  grouping  them  in  pairs 
and  drawing  the  members  of  each  pair  within  a  foot  of  each 
other,  the  pairs  themselves  would  be  three  feet  apart,  the 
corresponding  five  feet  in  the  centre  aisle  representing  com- 
mon ground.  Now  suppose  the  1680  square  feet  of  floor  space 
to  be  a  square  instead  of  a  parallelogram;  then  each  side  of 
the  square  would  be  41  feet,  or  164  linear  feet  in  all.  Arranged 
on  two  sides  of  the  room,  disregarding  door-ways,  there  would 
not  be  quite  room  for  all  the  beds  even  if  they  touched  one 
another.  To  place  the  beds  around  the  four  sides,  two  of  the 
sides  would  lose  at  least  eight  feet  at  each  angle  or  32  feet  in 
all,  and  at  the  very  least  9  feet  (more  probably  15  feet)  must 
be  subtracted  for  three  doors,  leaving  123  or  117  feet  available, 
as  the  case  might  be.  By  the  closest  calculation  each  bed 
might  have  a  trifle  over  four  feet  laterally,  or  placing  members 
of  pairs  six  inches  apart  there  would  be  but  two  feet  between 
the  independent  pairs.  With  these  thus  crowded,  the  cen- 
tre of  the  square  (27  X  27  =  729  square  feet)  would  be  un- 
available for  true  dormitory  uses,  while  the  space  under  the 
beds  could  be  policed  only  with  difficulty.  That  this  is  not  a 
mere  theoretical  difficulty,  the  case  of  Fort  Larned,  Kansas, 
(now  discontinued)  shows.  In  1867  three  out  of  four  squad- 
rooms  built  that  year  were  40  feet  square  and  10  feet  high, 
with  no  direct  communication  with  the  open  air  exclusive 
of  doors  and  windows.  In  1869  two  of  these  rooms  were 
occupied  by  35  and  42  infantry  respectively,  and  the  third 
had  recently  been  filled  with  a  cavalry  troop.  These  men 
occupied  two-tiered  double  bunks,  four  men  in  each  bunk; 
the  cavalry  had  used  three-tiered  double  bunks.  Some  de- 
vice of  this  kind  was  necessary  to  enable  the  men  to  be  housed, 


184  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

although  by  it  they  received  only  381  and  457  cubic  feet  air- 
space respectively,  with  small  chance  of  renewal,  especially  in 
the  winter.  Reflection  on  such  incidents  is  sometimes  desir- 
able to  enable  progress  to  be  appreciated. 

For  convenience  of  discipline  multiples  of  eight,  a  cor- 
poral's squad,  would  be  quartered  together  and  two  or  three 
Length  of  extra  beds  for  sergeants  added.  Both  the  Quarter- 
squad-room  master's  and  the  Medical  departments'  relations 
of  floor-space  and  air-space  assume  a  ceiling  12  feet  high. 
With  a  floor  area  of  60  square  feet  per  man  (the  Quarter- 
master's standard)  and  a  width  of  23.5  feet,  26  men  would 
require  a  room  66.5  feet  long,  or  with  a  width  of  24  feet  it 
should  be  65  feet  in  length.  Thirty-four  men  would  need 
nearly  87  or  85  feet,  as  the  case  might  be.  With  a  floor  area 
of  85  square  feet  (the  official  medical  estimate)  26  men  would 
require  a  length  of  94  or  92  feet,  according  to  the  width. 
Should  70  square  feet  and  840  cubic  feet  be  adopted,  then  26 
men  would  require  a  room  77.5  or  76  feet  long  and  34  men 
one  101  or  99  feet  in  length.  When,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
it  is  necessary  to  quarter  troops  for  a  short  time  in  ordinary 
Dwellings  as  dwellings  and  without  cots,  a  somewhat  smaller 
quarters  allowance  of  air  may  be  accepted  in  the  emergency, 
and  the  conventional  rule  is:  For  rooms  15  feet  wide,  one 
man  to  every  yard  in  length;  for  those  between  15  and  25 
feet  wide,  two  men  to  the  yard;  for  rooms  wider  than  25  feet, 
three  men  to  the  yard.  It  is  better  that  the  men  should 
be  required  to  lie  in  two  rows,  heads  to  the  wall.  Assuming 
that  the  ceilings  are  10  feet  high  and  there  is  no  furni- 
ture, each  man  of  the  first  class  will  have  450  and  of  the 
second  and  third  classes  300  feet  air-space.  If  the  ceiling 
is  12  feet  high,  add  90  and  50  feet  per  man  respectively. 
But  this  allowance  is  too  small  for  permanent  occupation, 
Renewal  unless  there  are  exceptional  facilities  for  the  ex- 
of  air  change  of  the  air.  It  is  generally  conceded  that 

in  living  apartments,  whether  by  day  or  by  night  and  re- 
gardless of  their  size  within  common  limits,  3000  feet  of  air 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  185 

should  be  supplied  each  man  every  hour.  If  600  cubic  feet 
be  the  air-space  per  man,  then  it  should  be  replenished  five 
times  an  hour,  or  once  in  twelve  minutes;  if  720  feet,  then 
about  four  times,  or  once  in  fifteen  minutes;  840  feet  would 
require  change  about  three  and  a  half  times  an  hour;  and 
1020  feet  rather  less  than  three  times,  or  once  in  a  little  more 
than  twenty  minutes.  Clearly  the  more  slowly  the  air 
moves,  provided  it  moves  at  all,  the  better;  but  at  the  same 
time  the  larger  must  be  the  apartment,  with  a  corresponding 
increase  in  its  first  cost  and  general  maintenance.  These 
figures  are  introduced  for  convenience  of  reference,  the 
particular  point  to  remember  being  that  an  adequate  air- 
space constantly  refilled  is  essential. 

All  ventilation  depends  upon  two  conditions.  The  first  is 
the  diffusion  of  gases,  which  is  the  property  by  which  every 
gas  will  freely  and  rapidly  expand  into  the  space  . 

occupied  by  another  gas,  practically  as  though  this 
space  were  a  vacuum,  and  the  mixture  will  not  redistribute 
itself.     This  takes  place  inversely  as  the  square  root  of  their 
densities.     Thus  from  equal  volumes  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
one   part  of  the  oxygen  will  pass  into  the  hydrogen  to  four 
parts  of  the  hydrogen  into  the  oxygen.     The  second  is  the 
entrance  and  exit  of  the  air  from  and  into  the  outer  atmos- 
phere.     Now,    time    being    given,    the    diffusion    of    gases 
establishes  a  uniform  quality  throughout  the  apartment,  a 
uniformity  of  foulness  as  well  as  of  freshness,  which  is  the 
essential  reason  why  copious  dilution  with  pure  air  should  be 
constant.     Floating  organic  matters,  however,  are  not  affected 
by  the  law  of  diffusion  as  much  as  by  the  air-currents  within  the 
apartment.     Although  diffusion  is  a  constant  and  a  reasonably 
rapid  process,  the  contaminations  in  the  expired  air  do  not  im- 
mediately fly  off  uniformly  into  space,  and  the  pro-    Floating 
cess  of  diffusion  does  not  directly  overcome  the    organic 
effects  of  currents  induced  by  differences  in  tern-    matters 
perature  or  otherwise.     In  an  undisturbed  atmosphere  it  is 
probable  that  the  organic  matters  given  off  into  it  gravitate  to 


186  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  bottom  of  the  room  or  settle  upon  its  stationary  contents. 
But  that  is  not  the  case  with  carbon  dioxide,  which,  although 
heavier  than  an  equal  volume  of  air,  does  not  obey  the  law  of 
gravitation  in  preference  to  that  of  diffusion;  and  when  there 
is  much  difference  in  composition  between  the  upper  and 
lower  strata  of  contained  air  the  upper  is  usually  the  more 
impure  as  well  as  the  warmer,  because  as  a  whole  the  air 
heated  in  the  lungs  or  by  combustion  rises  and  carries  with 
it  its  varied  contaminations.  Whatever  volume  of  air  may 
be  allotted  to  any  particular  barrack,  the  pro- 
portion per  man  should  be  somewhat  greater  for 
the  cavalry  so  as  to  dissipate  the  unavoidable  stable  odors. 
And  hospitals,  whose  sick  give  off  emanations  charged  with 
H  a  itals  sPecmc  poisons  of  their  own,  require  their  extreme 
dilution.  In  fact  the  more  nearly  a  military 
hospital  ward  can  be  thrown  open  to  the  outer  air,  the  better 
adapted,  other  conditions  being  equal,  will  it  be  as  a  place  of 
care  for  the  sick. 

Ozone,  which  is  an  allotropic  and  denser  condition  of  oxygen, 
probably  arranged  as  O2O,  possesses  a  very  much  higher 
Qz  oxidizing  power  than  oxygen;  so  it  is  probable 

that  if  the  fresh  air  contains  ozone,  the  more  of 
such  fresh  air  there  is  the  more  rapid  is  the  oxidation  and 
simultaneous  destruction  of  at  least  some  of  the  disease 
causes.  Certainly  when  free  ozone  is  to  be  found  it  may  be 
inferred  that  there  is  very  little  or  no  organic  oxidizable 
matter  present. 

All  natural  ventilation,  independently  of  that  associated 
with  the  diffusion  of  gases,  depends  upon  differences  of  tern- 
Exterior  perature  whereby  the  relative  positions  of  parts 
ventilation  of  the  atmosphere  are  altered.  The  most  con- 
spicuous and  constant  illustration  of  atmospheric  ventilation 
due  to  heat  is  that  of  the  trade  winds,  and  of  course  storms, 
which  violently  move  great  masses  of  air,  and  the  gentler 
breezes  that  refresh  without  being  destructive,  depend  in  the 
end  upon  the  same  agency.  On  the  other  hand  where  the 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  187 

temperature  is  nearly  uniform  over  large  regions,  especially 
in  great  forests  or  valleys  when  it  is  very  hot,  occasionally  the 
aii  may  not  move  much  and  the  oppressive  feeling  of  stag- 
nation is  not  imaginary.  But  in  connection  with  residences, 
large  or  small,  provision  must  be  made  not  merely  interior 
for  the  movement  of  air  within  the  building  but  ventilation 
also  for  the  entrance  of  fresh  air  and  its  escape  after  use.  The 
introduction  and  extraction  of  air  by  machinery  is  necessary 
in  large  and  complex  buildings  and,  as  artificial  ventilation,  is 
the  province  of  the  civil  engineer  and  the  architect.  That  is 
entirely  beyond  the  scope  of  this  work,  which  concerns  itself 
only  with  simple  and  ordinary  barracks  where  the  change  of 
air  follows  the  movement  of  the  external  atmos-  Natural 
phere,  sometimes  supplemented  by  the  influence  ventilation 
of  combustion,  and  this  is  natural  ventilation.  In  common 
with  artificial  ventilation  this  requires  provision  for  the  escape 
as  well  as  the  entrance  of  air,  and  in  its  simplest  form  is  by 
means  of  open  doors  and  windows  on  opposite  sides  of  a  room, 
so  that  the  wind  may  blow  directly  through  it.  . 

This  is  known  as  perflation.  Perflation  should  be 
practised  daily  and  systematically  in  every  barrack,  regard- 
less of  the  external  temperature,  so  as  to  sweep  out  all  the  air 
previously  present.  The  exception  is  when  rain  or  snow 
would  drive  in  on  the  windward  side,  but  even  then  the  oppo- 
site side  should  be  open  for  part  of  the  day.  This  cannot  be 
kept  up  in  severe  weather  while  the  room  is  occupied;  and 
whenever  the  external  temperature  is  much  lower  than  that 
within,  the  discomfort  of  cold  draughts  forbids  the  partial 
opening  of  windows  for  any  considerable  time.  But  every 
room  in  barracks,  squad-room  or  other,  should  be  thoroughly 
flushed  in  this  way  daily,  driving  storm  alone  preventing. 
Natural  ventilation,  apart  from  perflation,  depends  upon 

aspiration.     The  atmosphere  moves  across  chim- 

.  .  „        Aspiration 

neys,   or  other  openings  especially  arranged  for 

communication  with  the  interior,  and  thus  creates  theoretical 
vacuums  at  the  outlets  into  and  through  which  the  interior 


188  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

air  escapes,  or,  as  popularly  expressed,  is  drawn  out.  The 
upward  movement  will  be  proportionate  to  the  lateral  move- 
ment of  the  outer  air  diminished  by  the  friction  of  the  channels. 
The  condition  for  an  outward  movement  is  the  opportunity 
Air  must  f°r  ^  ^°  enter  the  apartment  as  well  as  to  escape, 
escape  as  nor  can  air  enter  unless  there  is  also  opportunity 
well  as  enter  for  the  enciosed  air  to  be  released.  The  two 
conditions  are  complementary,  as  illustrated  in  the  operation 
of  a  common  stove,  which  cannot  "draw"  if  the  pipe  is  closed 
or  the  draught  hermetically  sealed.  Hence  also  in  warming 
a  well-built  house  by  a  hot-air  furnace  the  effort  "to  keep  the 
heat  in"  by  closing  openings  into  the  outer  air  fails.  The  hot 
air  cannot  enter  the  plenum  thus  constructed.  But  when  a 
window  is  raised  for  the  escape  of  contained  cold  or  contami- 
nated air,  warm  fresh  air  at  once  flows  through  the  registers 
to  replace  it.  It  should  always  be  remembered  that  fresh 
air  is  not  necessarily  cold  air.  Air  may  very 
properly  be  warmed  before  it  is  breathed  without 
inducing  any  other  change  in  its  character,  but  no  system  of 
natural  ventilation  will  make  the  air  in  the  house  cooler  than 
that  outside.  It  is  not  hygienic  ventilation  when  the  incoming 
air  is  not  fresh,  or  the  outgoing  air  does  not  pass  directly  into 
the  outer  atmosphere.  To  connect  the  air  of  a  sleeping-room 
with  that  of  an  attic,  whether  the  latter  has  windows  or  not, 
does  not  necessarily  ventilate  either. 

For  comparatively  small  and  not  overcrowded  apartments 
these  simple  methods  for  the  admission  of  air  to  replace  that 
Simple  ven-  escaping  through  a  chimney  or  other  flue,  or  some- 
tilation  times  by  reverse  action  through  a  part  of  these 
very  openings,  are:  (1)  Where  the  sashes  do  not  come  together 
accurately,  wedges  in  the  line  of  junction  will  allow  a  con- 
siderable volume  of  air  to  enter  along  the  crack  and  escape 
by  the  chimney  or  other  flue;  (2)  Transpose  the  sashes,  and 
air  will  enter  where  the  displaced  borders  do  not  fit  closely; 
(3)  Raise  the  lower  sash  a  few  inches  and  fill  the  space  beneath 
with  a  light  board,  when  air  will  flow  in  where  the  sashes  no 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  189 

longer  touch;  (4)  Where  the  sashes  are  double,  as  with  storm 
windows,  at  least  one  outer  pane  in  each  should  be  movable 
and  the  inner  sashes  be  raised  or  lowered  as  required;  for  a 
somewhat  larger  apartment  in  a  moderate  climate  fair  venti- 
lation may  be  established  by  one  or  more  boxes  or  tubes 
crossing  the  room  just  under  the  ceiling,  each  with  a  perpen- 
dicular diaphragm  midway  and  freely  open  at  both  ends. 
When  these  conduits  have  numerous  good-sized  perforations 
the  air  will  enter  the  apartment  from  the  half  toward  which 
the  wind  blows  and  it  should  escape  through  the  other  half. 
The  volume  of  air  that  enters  may  be  regulated  by  valves  at 
the  extremities,  and  one  side  of  the  box,  or  the  lower  half  of 
the  tube,  should  be  hinged  for  the  stated  removal  of  dust. 

It  is  easier  to  introduce  enough  fresh  air  than  to  regulate 
it  so  as  to  avoid  unpleasant  draughts.     Where  such  draughts 
do  occur,  sooner  or  later  the  occupants  will  block 
the  inlets,  preferring  the  insensible  evils  of  insuf- 
ficient renewal  to   the  direct   annoyance   of    cold   currents. 
Hence  the  size  and  location  of  the  inlets  must  always  be 
important.     The  currents  of  air  are  liable  to  be  disagreeable 
in  proportion  as  the  space  through  which  they  may  be  broken 
and  deviated  decreases.     Thus,  to  supply  3000  cubic  feet  of 
air  per  hour  would  require  the  presumed  600  cubic  feet  of 
air-space  to  be  renewed  five  times  within  that    Bate  of 
period.     Or  should,  as  sometimes  happens,  there    supply 
be  only  500  feet  air-space  per  man,  then  that  amount  must 
be  introduced  six  times  an  hour.     It  is  repeated   that  the 
more  crowded  the  squad-room  the  greater  necessity  for  freely 
and  frequently  diluting  the  inevitable  contamination.     Now, 
if  the  apartment  is  small,  these  currents  may  be  difficult  to 
manage  and  at  ordinary  winter  temperature  they  would  be 
uncomfortable  to  encounter.     Thus,  if  a  space  of    Aircur- 
500  cubic  feet  is  to  be  supplied  six  times  an  hour,    rents 
or  once  in  ten  minutes,  through  an  inlet  of  24  square  inches 
(the  English  standard  per  head),  the  rate  would  be  3.4  miles 
per  hour;  if  the  inlet  were  12  square  inches  (a  slit  one  inch  by 


190  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

twelve,  two  inches  by  six,  or  an  opening  three  inches  by 
four),  then  the  rate  would  be  nearly  seven  miles  an  hour,  a 
brisk  sailing  breeze,  and  in  contact  with  the  person  would 
usually  be  insupportable.  Where  the  air-space  is  720  feet, 
the  air  must  be  renewed  a  little  more  than  four  times,  for 
820  feet  three  times  and  a  half,  for  1020  feet  a  trifle  under 
three  times  an  hour.  In  all  these  cases  the  cooler  the  air  the 
more  disagreeable  will  be  its  contact,  and  the  warmer  up  to 
about  100°  F.  the  less  it  is  perceived.  As  the  air  must  be 
introduced  in  the  same  ratio,  whatever  that  may  be,  for  every 
individual,  it  is  evident  that  the  position  of  the  inlets  must  be 
established  with  care,  and  with  our  greater  range  of  tempera- 
ture the  24  square  inches  of  the  English  allowance  may  be 
reduced  to  12  inches  per  head,  always  provided  that  the 
smaller  and  swifter  current  does  not  fall  directly  upon  an 
occupant.  After  all,  it  is  principally  when  artificial  heat  is 
required  that  special  concern  may  be  taken  about  inlets, 
unless  unreasoning  dread  of  night-air  leads  to  closing  doors 
and  windows  then.  In  the  tropics  the  perflation  that  may 
always  be  depended  upon  obviates  the  necessity  for  special 
inlets.  On  the  other  hand  in  northern  latitudes,  especially 
in  winter,  the  difference  in  temperature  is  a  chief  factor,  and 
ventilating  openings  are  smaller  or  fewer  as  this  difference 
increases. 

Outlets  are  equally  important  as  inlets  and  generally  the 
section-area  of  the  two  sets  of  openings  should  be  equal. 
The  exception  is  that  a  strong  outgoing  current 
over  a  large  area,  as  a  chimney,  makes  the  in- 
draughts through  small  sections  more  rapid,  so  that  not  so 
large  a  superficies  is  required.  In  fact  small  rooms  where 
doors  are  frequently  opened,  as  in  officers'  quarters,  usually 
require  only  places  of  exit;  and  most  walls  of  dwellings, 
Officers'  unless  especially  massive  and  well  built,  are  per- 
quarters  meable  to  air.  This  is  particularly  true  in  wooden 
houses  and  where  the  plastering  is  laid  directly  upon  the 
brick.  This  mural  permeability  is  one  reason  why  the  appar- 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  191 

ent  want  of  ventilation , is  not  more  serious  in  its  results,  but 
it  should  not  be  depended  upon  to  replace  a  careful  system  of 
window-  or  transom-ventilation.  Painted  or  papered  walls 
are  more  nearly  air-tight.  But  however  air  may  be  sup- 
posed to  enter,  chimneys  should  not  be  closed,  as  a  false  sense 
of  economy  or  of  appearance  sometimes  directs.  A  chimney 
is  an  excellent  ventilating  shaft  for  an  entire  house,  and  al- 
though a  fire  may  not  be  required  the  chimney  itself  should 
always  be  freely  open.  Occasionally  a  disagreeable  flow  of 
cold  air  in  the  season  where  fires  are  not  required  may  pour 
down  the  chimney.  This  current  may  easily  be  reversed  by 
placing  a  lighted  lamp  in  the  fireplace  or  just  below  the 
opening  of  a  flue.  A  chimney  sometimes  smokes  smoky 
because  there  is  insufficient  fresh  air  to  maintain  chimney 
a  competent  draught.  In  that  case  opening  a  window  relieves 
the  difficulty. 

When  ventilating  shafts  as  such  are  required,  they  should 
be  small  and  numerous  rather  than  large  and  few.  A  mere 
channel  between  the  inner  and  the  outer  air,  if  it  Character  of 
is  tortuous  or  if  the  interior  is  rough,  is  not  neces-  air-shafts 
sarily  sufficient.  Friction  greatly  retards  air  in  motion,  so 
that  the  smoother  the  surface  the  more  readily  the  air  flows. 
If  a  change  of  direction  is  required,  the  passage  should  be 
curved  rather  than  crooked.  Every  right  angle  materially 
diminishes  the  progress  of  the  air.  The  air-shafts  should  be 
placed  to  avoid  direct  currents  between  entrances  and  exits, 
for  it  is  quite  possible  for  the  stream  of  air  to  pass  directly 
through  a  room  without  materially  disarranging  the  contained 
volume.  The  inlets  should  be  arranged  also  to  divert  the 
air  from  plane  surfaces  along  which  when  not  disturbed  it  has 
a  marked  tendency  to  adhere  and  roll,  instead  of  immediately 
diffusing  itself  throughout  the  enclosed  space. 

The  method  most  generally  convenient  for  the  admission 
of  air  to  ordinary  barracks  is  by  shafts,  whose  outer 
ends  curve  down,  which  open  directly  under  the 
heating  apparatus.      The  exterior  curve  is  to  prevent   the 


192  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

wind  blowing  with  violence  directly  through.  When  the 
stove  or  the  steam  coils  are  jacketed,  the  air  is  warmed  before 
it  circulates  through  the  room  and  does  not  flow  over  the 
floor  while  yet  cool.  Exit  shafts  are  to  be  placed  in  the  ceiling 
near  the  eaves  on  both  sides  of  the  room.  These  should  be 
tall  enough  to  use  the  aspirating  force  of  the  wind  from  either 
direction.  In  very  cold  weather,  or  when  there  is  danger  that 
cold  air  may  enter  these  channels  on  one  side  of  the  building 
as  well  as  escape  on  the  other,  valves  may  be  introduced  to 
prevent  or  regulate  it.  Where  the  inlet  and  outlet  tubes  are 
distinct  and  no  aspirating  or  expulsive  apparatus  is  used,  if 
the  air  is  warmed  before  it  is  distributed  it  should  be  admitted 
near  the  floor;  if  it  is  cold,  then  near  the  ceiling  and  the  exits 
be  reversed  in  position.  A  very  simple  and  sometimes  an 
effectual  plan  of  ventilation  is  a  series  of  tubes  through  the 
ceiling  on  both  sides  of  the  room  extending  higher  than  the 
ridge  and  divided  longitudinally  into  two  or  four  of  smaller 
calibre.  The  air  enters  through  one  channel  and  escapes 
through  another.  This  does  not  directly  provide  for  its 
distribution  within  the  room,  so  that  the  air  which  enters 


M'Kinnell's  Tube. 

may  escape  immediately.  A  better  method  is  by  the  M'Kin- 
nell  tube.  Here  one  shaft  is  enclosed  within  another  of  larger 
M'Kinnell's  area,  both  of  which  pass  from  the  ceiling  through 
tube  the  ridge,  the  inner  tube  being  the  longer  in  each 

direction  and  having  a  wide  flange  at  the  lower  end.  The 
heated  air  will  escape  by  the  inner  tube,  and  fresh  air  should 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  193 

enter  by  the  outer  channel  and  be  diverted  throughout  the 
room  by  the  lateral  projection.  The  flange  or  shelf  should  be 
carefully  wiped  daily  and  be  inspected  for  dust  at  least  weekly. 
Ridge  ventilation,  peculiarly  adapted  for  temporary  hospitals, 
is  also  perfectly  applicable  to  the  simpler  barracks,  Ridge  ven- 
particularly  those  of  the  pavilion  type,  in  warm  tilation 
or  moderate  weather.  It  is  in  substance  an  opening  twelve 
to  eighteen  inches  wide,  taking  off  the  crest  of  the  ridge  for 
a  part  or  the  whole  of  its  length,  and  covered  by  an  independent 
roof  eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  higher.  This  secondary 
roof  has  hinged  sides,  which  may  be  lowered  as  required  to 
close  it  in.  If  the  barrack  is  ceiled,  a  boxed  opening  connects 
the  squad-room  with  the  opening  in  the  ridge,  and  the  passage 
of  air  through  it  may  be  regulated  by  hinged  flaps  controlled 
by  ropes  over  pulleys.  If  there  is  no  ceiling,  then  there  is  no 
construction  below  the  ridge.  In  the  cold  season  a  modifi- 
cation of  ridge  ventilation  is  found  in  boxed  shafts,  eighteen 
to  twenty-four  inches  square,  running  from  the  tie-beams  to 
beyond  the  ridge  and  utilizing  the  stove-pipe  to  aid  the  out- 
ward current.  In  hot  climates  where  natural  ventilation  is 

sluggish  and  electrical  power  is  available,  electric  _ 

t  i  •     •   x      - 1  .   Electric  fans 

tans  placed  so  as  to  drive  air  into  the  apartment 

and  also  to  expel  it  are  particularly  serviceable.  In  order  to 
guard  against  unnecessary  discomfort  from  reduced  tempera- 
ture or  high  winds,  it  should  be  possible  on  occasion  to  diminish 
the  calibre  of  the  inlets  to  correspond  with  the  rapidity  of  the 
flow;  but  that  the  valves  may  not  be  tampered  with,  they 
should  be  set  by  a  non-commissioned  officer  and  the  sergeant 
in  charge  of  quarters  be  made  responsible  that  the  system 
is  not  molested  by  day  or  by  night.  This  is  true  as  well  for 
the  electric  fans.  Otherwise  some  ignorant  soldier  will  seek 
warmth  at  the  expense  of  fresh  air.  The  state  of  the  ven- 
tilation should  be  a  constant  subject  of  intelligent  solicitude 
by  the  company  commander. 

A  company  officer  should  not  be  entirely  satisfied  that  his 
men  are  properly  quartered  when  they  are  protected  from  the 


194  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

weather,  have  the  standard  air-space,  and  an  adequate  renewal 
of  fresh  air  in  proportion  to  their  number.  His  inspection 
Barrack  in-  of  barracks  should  include  possible  leaks  from  gas- 
spections  fixtures,  waste-pipe  traps,  soil-pipes,  the  products 
of  combustion  in  stove,  furnace,  or  through  illumination,  and 
organic  decomposition  in  closets  and  cellars.  Every  odor 
should  be  traced  to  its  source.  The  decay  of  any  form  of 
organic  matter  within  a  barrack  is  simply  inexcusable  and  is 
prima  facie  evidence  of  negligent  policing;  but  because  it  is 
possible,  the  integrity  of  the  food  supplies  must  always  be 
assured.  The  fresh-air  supply  of  heating  furnaces  or  of  cold 
fresh-air  shafts  should  be  carefully  guarded  against  contami- 
nations from  drains  and  slop  deposits,  and  the  furnace  proper 
Purity  of  or  the  iron  stove  from  cracks  or  imperfect  joints 
air-supply  through  which  the  gases  of  combustion  may 
escape,  or  red-hot  cast  iron  which  may  allow  carbon  monox- 
ide in  particular  to  pass  through  it,  into  the  hot-air  chamber 
or  directly  into  the  apartment.  Steam  and  hot-water  coils 
do  not  pollute  the  air.  Plaster,  brick,  and  porous  stone 
ultimately  absorb-  organic  poisons,  which  is  a  special  lia- 
bility of  hospitals  and  guard-houses,  and  may  easily  follow 
Treatment  over-population  of  a  dormitory.  Such  walls  and 
of  walls  ceilings  should  be  scraped  at  least  once  a  year  and 
be  lime-washed  twice  a  year  with  fresh  lime.  The  plaster 
should  be  renewed  at  least  once  in  ten  years  and  after  any 
epidemic.  A  hard-finished  wall  may  be  washed  down  with 
a  disinfectant  or  otherwise  when  required.  As  a  matter  of 
routine  this  should  be  done  every  six  months  and  paint  be 
applied  every  two  years.  On  account  of  the  relative  imper- 
meability of  such  a  wall,  the  inlets  for  air  must  be  numerous 
and  abundantly  sufficient  for  the  number  of  occupants. 

The  use  of  protective  netting  is  a  required  sanitary  pre- 
caution wherever  the  so-called  "malarial"  and  the  yellow 
Mosquito  fevers  may  occur,  on  account  of  the  well-estab- 
netting  lished  agency  of  the  mosquito  in  propagating 
those  diseases.  It  is  impracticable  to  keep  a  whole  barrack 


VENTILATION  AND  CARE  195 

free  from  all  flying  insects  by  exclusive  netting,  but  every 
bed  should  be  efficiently  enclosed  and  the  careful  use  of  in- 
dividual netting  be  enforced  as  a  part  of  routine  discipline. 
Outer  doors  may  well  be  screened,  and  notwithstanding  its 
obvious  interference  with  the  pleasanter  breezes  the  verandas 
themselves  in  the  more  unwholesome  localities  should  be 
covered  in  with  competent  meshing.  It  is  an  error  to  make 
barracks  unduly  large,  either  in  the  width  and  length  of  indi- 
vidual squad-rooms  or  by  the  addition  of  unnecessary  rooms, 
for  the  possible  convenience  of  the  extra  space  does  not  repay 
their  care.  Certainly  they  should  not  exceed  twenty-four 
feet  in  width,  for  reasons  already  assigned.  Wainscoted  walls 
become  frequent  harbors  of  vermin.  Receptacles  Superfluous 
of  all  kinds  should  be  reduced  to  the  minimum,  and  BPa°e 
in  permanent  barracks  wall  lockers  are  better  arranged  with 
glazed  doors  for  ease  of  inspection  and  as  a  constant  incentive 
to  orderliness.  Independently  of  discipline,  the  Contents  of 
squad-room  should  contain  no  personal  property  squad-rooms 
not  required  on  duty.  Everything  else,  and  especially  civilian 
clothing  if  such  is  permitted,  should  be  in  another  room  in 
a  non-commissioned  officer's  charge.  Every  object  diminishes 
the  air-space  by  the  measure  of  its  own  bulk,  facilitates  the 
collection  of  dust  about  it,  and  interferes  with  sweeping  and 
general  cleaning.  Bedsteads  should  not  be  placed  directly 
against  the  wall.  Neither  should  steam-coils  in  dormitories 
be  placed  near  the  walls,  which  means  near  the  Beds  and 
sleepers'  heads,  as  is  a  temptation  for  economy  of  steam-coils 
space  and  sometimes  for  the  easier  access  of  the  supply 
pipes;  but  their  proper  position  for  uniform  and  harmless 
heating  is  along  the  central  line.  All  bedding  should  be 
opened  up  daily,  and  be  sunned  half  a  day  at  least 
once  a  week;  and  it  should  be  inspected  irregularly  for 
soiled  clothing  and  contraband  stowed  below  the  mattress 
or  under  the  pillow.  Blankets  should  be  aired  every  fine  day 
and  occasionally  be  beaten.  Points  like  these,  minor  and 
commonplace  as  they  are,  are  important  in  the  aggregate; 


198  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

sage,  1000  cubic  feet  as  a  minimum,  and  this  to  be  changed 
at  least  six  times  an  hour.  It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  the 
reduction  of  temperature  which  a  reasonably  frequent  change 
of  air  may  involve  may  be  carried  too  far  in  a  temperate 
climate.  A  British  veterinary  authority,  F.  Smith,  quoted 
by  Notter  and  Firth  (Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  182),  from  whom 
also  the  foregoing  data  are  derived,  "  considers  that  with 
proper  feeding  and  attention  the  air  about  a  horse  may  be 
changed  every  three  minutes,  or  twenty  times  an  hour, 
although  the  coat  may  not  turn  out  as  glossy  as  in  a  warmer 
stable."  Of  course  this  depends  somewhat  upon  the  external 
temperature,  but  in  fairly  moderate  climates  a  horse  will  do 
perfectly  well  out  of  doors  with  some  protection  from  storms. 
Horses  like  men  formerly  were  badly  crowded  and  they 
suffered  the  necessary  consequences.  In  the  French  cavalry 
stables  prior  to  1836  the  mortality  ranged  from  180  to  197 
per  1000  per  annum.  In  1862-66  it  was  27.5  per  1000. 
In  the  war  of  1859  10,000  horses  were  kept  in  open  barracks, 
with  scarcely  any  sick  and  but  one  case  of  glanders.  During 
the  Civil  War  horses  were  kept  in  perfectly  good  condition 
in  Virginia  under  a  simple  roof  of  boughs,  which  broke  the 
force  of  the  summer  sun  and  intercepted  the  winter  snows. 
Doubtless  this  is  not  unique. 


XXIV 

CAMPS 

A  bivouac  implies  that  the  troops  are  resting  for  the  night 
in  the  field,  with  no  other  shelter  than  they  carry  upon  the 
person  or  which  may  be  extemporized,  or  with  Bivouacs 
none  at  all.  A  camp  implies  that  the  troops  are  and  camps 
sheltered  by  tents  or  temporary  structures.  Where  shelter- 
tents  are  carried,  bivouacs  and  camps  shade  into  each  other 
and  for  our  purposes  may  be  treated  as  identical,  notwith- 
standing the  life  of  what  was  originally  a  bivouac  or  a  pro- 
visional camp  may  be  indefinitely  prolonged.  As  distinguished 
from  bivouacs,  camps  are  temporary  or  are  those  of  position. 
The  former  are  usually  determined  by  conditions  which  are 
insistent  but  transient.  These  would  be  the  position  of 
the  enemy,  the  necessity  for  concentration,  or  contingencies 
which,  however  imperative  originally,  may  pass  away  at  any 
time.  An  example  is  the  halt  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
before  Yorktown  in  1862  (Camp  Winfield  Scott),  or  the  col- 
lective camps  at  Tampa  and  in  Chickamauga  Park  in  1898. 
As  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  its  duration,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  primary  intention,  every  temporary  camp  should 
be  managed  from  the  beginning  with  the  same  care  that 
would  be  required  if  its  permanence  were  then  Permanent 
assured.  Camps  designed  to  be  permanent  are  camps 
deliberately  established  for  some  ulterior  purpose  and,  when 
possible,  only  after  the  site  has  been  carefully  chosen.  But 
in  war  the  necessities  of  the  campaign  usually  control  the 
situation.  Permanent  camps  are  divided  into  those  of  in- 
struction and  those  of  war.  Camps  of  instruction  should  have 
sites  well  prepared  by  clearing,  grading,  and  underdraining; 
they  require  abundant  pure  water  for  drinking,  cooking,  and 

199 


200  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

individual  bathing  made  accessible  artificially;  facilities  for 
the  prompt  and  complete  removal  or  destruction  of  all  kinds 
Camps  of  of  refuse;  adequate  field  kitchens;  sufficient  tent- 
instruction  age;  artificial  illumination;  and  protection  when 
required  against  flies  and  mosquitoes.  The  experience  of  the 
large  encampments  at  Pine  Camp,  N.  Y.,  and  Atascadero, 
CaL,  demonstrate  that  thousands  of  troops,  the  majority  in- 
experienced, may  be  kept  in  camp  entirely  free  from  disease 
arising  there  or  spreading  from  an  imported  case.  These 
remarkable  achievements  should  not  condemn  war  camps 
which  fail  to  give  equal  results  under  harmful  conditions;  but 
they  place  upon  commanding  officers  the  burden  of  proof  in 
determining  how  far  such  conditions  are  without  remedy. 
Camps  such  as  cited  establish  a  standard  to  be  emulated  if 
not  equalled,  and  their  appliances  and  administration  become 
models  for  study. 

The  essentials  of  even  the  most  transitory  over-night  resting- 
place  are  water,  wood,  grass  or,  alternatively,  accessible  grain 

or  fodder,  and  the  avoidance  of  marshy  ground. 

Wolseley's  advice,  to  interpose  when  possible  a 
screen  of  woods  between  an  infantry  camp  and  the  enemy  as 
a  military  precaution,  applies  equally  to  such  a  barrier  before 
the  breeding-places  of  mosquitoes.  However,  it  is  hopeless 
in  active  campaign,  particularly  during  operations  not  of  our 
own  choosing,  to  anticipate  always  finding  situations  that  are 
favorable  in  their  natural  state;  but  responsibility  is  not  re- 
moved because  of  difficulties  to  be  overcome.  The  competent 
commander  studies  the  general  character  of  the  available 
ground  in  its  sanitary  as  well  as  in  its  aggressive  or  defensive 
facilities.  To  that  end  a  medical  inspector  should  accom- 
pany the  reconnoitring  engineer,  for  notwithstanding  sanitary 
advantages  frequently  must  give  way  before  military  con- 
siderations, they  should  not  be  causelessly  abandoned  or 
ignorantly  disregarded.  The  difficulty  in  selecting  resting- 
places  increases  directly  with  the  size  of  the  command,  until 
finally  little  remains  but  to  make  the  best  of  assigned  situa- 


CAMPS  201 

tions.  Here  the  primary  responsibility  rests  with  the  corps 
or  division  commander,  through  his  staff.  In  an  independent 
march  the  halt  for  the  day  should  by  preference  be  determined 
according  to  the  sanitary  conditions.  It  is  better  to  march 
even  fatigued  men  two  extra  miles  to  dry  ground  with  acces- 
sible water,  than  to  risk  health  by  bivouacking  on  marshy 
soil  or  among  the  remains  of  an  abandoned  camp.  Possible 
detention  must  be  ever  in  mind,  for  in  war  to-day's  resting- 
place  may  be  occupied  for  weeks. 

The  deliberate  selection  of  ground  for  the  protracted  camp 
of  a  large  command  involves  the  same  principles  that  apply 
to  sites  for  permanent  posts,  and  even  small  commands  or 
mobile  columns  should  disregard  those  rules  only  through 
necessity;  for  while  circumstances  may  modify  their  admin- 
istration, the  laws  of  health  do  not  change.  During  the  com- 
moner season  of  military  activity,  a  position  on  a  hillside  is 
more  desirable  than  one  on  its  summit  or  in  the  Hills  and 
valley,  potable  water  always  being  accessible.  In  streams 
cold  weather  the  brush  of  the  valley  is  more  acceptable,  no 
military  reason  contravening.  Convenient  proximity  to  water 
is  the  first  sanitary  consideration,  malaria-bearing  mosquitoes 
being  absent  and  the  soil  not  wet.  Bivouac  should  not  be 
made  in  the  dry  bed  of  a  torrent  nor  below  the  first  bench  of 
a  shallow  river,  for  in  each  case  cloud-bursts  or  distant  storms 
may  fill  the  channel  without  warning  and  with  disastrous 
results.  If  time  is  important,  camp  should  be  made  on  the 
further  side  of  unbridged  streams,  lest  they  rise  in  the  night 
and  prevent  crossing.  Should  time  not  be  important,  in  the 
mosquito  season  it  is  better  to  encamp  on  the  windward  side 
to  avoid  those  insects.  In  the  field  a  small  fire  is  best  for 
personal  warmth  and  is  more  easily  managed  for  Personal 
individual  cooking.  An  Indian  will  squat  over  fi*es 
such  a  fire  or  lie  down  beside  it  and  be  comfortable,  while  an 
uninstructed  white  man  builds  one  so  large  that  he  cannot 
approach  it  and  is  cold.  Men  should  not  be  allowed  to  sleep 
directly  upon  the  ground,  except  in  the  rainless  regions  of 


202  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  interior  and  there  only  when  the  ground-water  is  low. 
This  is  particularly  true  for  raw  troops  or  for  those  long  in 
Sleeping  on  garrison,  for  it  seems  that  men  seasoned  by  pro- 
the  ground  longed  and  active  life  in  the  open  air  acquire  a 
moderate  immunity  against  conditions  ordinarily  harmful.  The 
rule  is  to  protect  the  body  when  in  repose  from  becoming 
wet,  because  that  condition  reduces  the  temperature,  not  only 
directly  by  the  difference  between  that  of  the  water  and  that 
of  the  body  itself,  but  indirectly  by  the  evaporation  of  the 
moisture  upon  the  skin.  Besides,  although  the  ground  may 
not  be  perceptibly  wet  or  even  damp,  the  coolness  of  so  great 
a  mass  rapidly  conducts  physical  heat  away  from  the  body. 
In  sleep  there  is  always  some  reduction  of  vital  resistance, 
which  opens  the  way  to  depression  when  the  ever-present 
soil-dampness  has  direct  access  to  the  person.  Hence  a  water- 
proof sheet  should  be  interposed  between  the  sleeper  and  the 
soil.  Even  sand  that  may  be  torrid  in  the  sun  radiates  heat 
so  rapidly  as  to  become  cold  in  the  night,  and  other  soils 
fluctuate  in  temperature  and  in  humidity  according  to  their 
composition  and  the  season.  Consequently  straw,  hay, 
boards,  rails,  even  fresh  boughs  (although  green  foliage  is 
generally  objectionable),  should  be  insisted  upon  for  a  resting- 
place.  It  is  better  to  lie  even  on  dry  stones,  guarded  if  possible 
by  straw  or  a  blanket,  than  upon  the  ground  itself.  New 
troops  must  be  taught  that  a  blanket  or  similar  protection 
is  as  necessary  under  the  body  as  over  it,  whether  on  a  cot  or 
lying  out,  for  much  discomfort  arises  from  becoming  chilled 
from  beneath.  It  is  more  important  to  avoid  wet  soil  when 
Bain  and  at  rest  than  to  keep  out  of  the  rain  when  in  motion, 
snow  for  it  is  a  common  experience  that,  except  in 

abnormally  severe  weather,  active  exercise  generates  suffi- 
cient animal  heat  to  preserve  an  equilibrium  in  temperature. 
Generally  speaking,  while  snow  is  falling  the  atmosphere  is 
exhilarating  and  physical  spirits  are  high.  It  is  when  snow 
evaporates  in  an  otherwise  humid  climate  and  the  air  becomes 
raw  from  an  excess  of  unprecipitated  moisture,  that  suscepti- 


CAMPS  203 

bility  to  colds  and  general  depression  increase.  But  on  the 
trans-Mississippi  plains  fairly  deep  snows  will  disappear  leav- 
ing no  appreciable  dampness.  To  sleep  under  deep  dry  snow 
is  no  particular  hardship  when  one  is  reasonably  well  clothed, 
because  snow  acts  as  a  non-conductor  and  does  not  dissipate 
the  heat  of  the  body,  while  it  is  sufficiently  porous  for  respi- 
ration to  continue  notwithstanding  it  may  cover  the  head. 

In  the  absence  of  tents  protection  from  the  wind  may  be 
had  within  a  circle  of  earth  18  feet  in  diameter  with  walls 

3  feet  high.     The  earth  should  be  thrown  up  from    . 

Wind-break 
the  outside,  not  from  within,  which  secures  exterior 

drainage  and  an  undisturbed  surface  to  rest  upon.  The 
single  entrance  should  be  to  leeward;  and  there  may  be  a  small 
fire  in  the  centre,  toward  which  the  men's  feet  should  point. 
When  a  camp  outlasts  a  day,  whether  tents  are  used  or  not 
the  sleeping-places  should  be  at  least  a  few  inches  above  the 
ground,  and  men  accustomed  to  wood-craft  will  prepare  them 
spontaneously.  As  already  noted,  the  objection  Camping  in 
to  encamping  in  the  woods  is  pure  prejudice,  and  woods 
a  fairly  open  wood  is  more  acceptable  than  a  bare  field,  other 
things  being  equal.  Even  a  dense  wood,  if  the  camp  is  to 
endure,  may  be  thinned  out  to  be  both  habitable  and  pleasant. 
In  1898  certain  volunteers  permitted  through  a  superficial 
looseness  in  discipline  to  sleep  on  platforms  in  trees  10  or  15 
feet  in  the  air  retained  their  health,  possibly  on  that  account, 
when  their  comrades  sleeping  near  the  ground  were  sick.  This 
may  have  been  because  they  escaped  all  terrestrial  dampness, 
or  because  they  were  a  little  above  the  common  range  of  the 
malarial  mosquitoes.  Irregular  formations  are  not  always 
unwise.  In  the  absence  of  tents,  where  small  trees  are  avail- 
able convenient  temporary  shelter  may  be  made  by  resting 
a  pole  on  two  or  more  forks,  or  lashing  it  four  or  six  feet  above 
the  ground  to  saplings,  and  piling  against  it  at  Temporary 
an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  branches  with  the  snelter 
thick  ends  up.  A  modification  of  this  would  be  shelter-tent 
canvas  pegged  to  the  ground  and  tied  to  a  fence-rail  or  other 


204  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

pole,  either  perpendicularly  as  a  wind-break  or  at  an  angle  to 
shed  rain  or  intercept  dew,  with  straw  or  hay  to  lie  upon. 
These  are  expedients  for  the  night.  But  when  it  is  not  raining, 
although  it  may  be  convenient  to  be  under  cover  it  is  of  com- 
paratively little  importance,  whether  by  day  or  by  night. 

Four  styles  of  tents  are  issued.     These  are:  (1)  For  of- 
ficers' use,  the  wall  tent.     This  is  9  feet  square  at  the  base, 

with  a  wall  3  feet  9  inches  high  at  the  sides  and 
Wall  tent 

rising  to  the  ridge  8  feet  6  inches  from  the  ground. 

Its  floor  area  is  81  square  feet  and  its  air-space  500  cubic 
feet.  It  is  covered  by  a  fly  or  false  roof,  which  extends  about 
a  foot  beyond  the  wall  and,  when  properly  pitched,  leaves 
a  non-conducting  air-space  above  the  roof  proper.  The  wall 
tent  is  designed  for  one  or  two  officers,  according  to  rank, 
in  camps  of  some  permanence.  During  active  operations 
company  officers  may  use  tents  like  their  men's  or  none 
at  all,  and  those  of  higher  rank  are  more  and  more  crowded 
together. 

(2)  The  common  tent,  also   known  as  the  "  I,"  or  the 
modified  "  A,"  tent.     Its  wall  is  2  feet;  the  base  8  feet  4 
Common         inches  by  6  feet  10  inches;  the  ridge  is  6  feet  10 
tent  inches  from  the  ground.     It  has  no  fly.     This  tent 
has  an  opening  for  ventilation,  3  by  6  inches,  front  and  rear, 
each  opening  covered  by  a  movable  flap.     Ordinarily,  when 
such  ventilation  is  required  at  all,  this  is  insufficient.     The 
floor  area  is  57  square  feet  and  the  air-space  250  cubic  feet. 
Officially  one  of  these  tents  is  allotted  to  four  mounted  men 
or  six  not  mounted.     Lying  across  its  width  each   infantry- 
man would  have  a  trifle  less  than  17  inches;   lying  parallel 
with  the  length  they  would  have  13  inches;  cavalrymen  after 
stowing  their  saddles  would  have  25  inches  the  longer  way 
and  not  clear  the  walls  —  in  either  case  an  absurdly  impos- 
sible space.     For  the  most  moderate  comfort  the  occupants 
should  be  half  the  number  in  each  case. 

(3)  The  conical  or  modified  Sibley  tent.     This  has  a  cir- 
cular base  16  feet  5  inches  in  diameter,  a  wall  3  feet  high, 


CAMPS  205 

and  it  converges  to  a  hooded  opening,  18  inches  in  diameter, 
10  feet  from  the  ground,  and  the  hood  which  protects 
the  top  may  open  at  one  side  and  at  the  apex.  . 
This  tent  has  a  floor-space  of  212  square  feet  and 
an  air-space  of  1450  cubic  feet.  One  such  tent  is  allowed 
17  cavalry  or  20  infantry,  the  men  lying  with  their  feet  to 
the  centre.  For  half  that  number  it  is  comfortable  in  a  fixed 
camp  or  on  a  slow  march.  The  advantage  of  the  Sibley 
is  that  it  may  have  in  the  centre  a  stove  whose  smoke  is 
conducted  to  the  peak  where  it  escapes,  and  it  may  always 
be  well  ventilated.  It  is  therefore  very  comfortable  when 
not  overcrowded.  The  introduction  of  the  low  wall  greatly 
improved  it  over  the  original  Indian  model.  A  modification 
recently  proposed  but  not  yet  adopted  for  general  issue  is  to 
substitute  a  rectangular  for  the  circular  base  for  greater 
convenience  of  occupation. 

(4)  The  shelter  tent.  No  army  any  longer  pretends  to 
carry  cumbrous  tentage  on  active  campaign,  for  it  invariably 
outmarches  its  heavy  baggage.  The  difficulty 
with  which  such  equipage  keeps  up  with  it  in- 
creases directly  with  the  size  of  the  army  and  the  badness 
of  the  roads,  so  that  a  few  tents  for  headquarters  and  for  the 
shelter  of  the  daily  sick  are  all  that  are  carried  on  wheels. 
Even  these  are  sometimes  left  far  behind.  Consequently 
where  tents  for  the  rank  and  file  are  used  on  campaign  at  all, 
they  are  borne  by  the  men  themselves.  The  tente  d'abn, 
or  shelter  tent,  consists  of  two  pieces  of  canvas  each  65  by 
61  inches,  with  a  triangular  flap  57  by  52  inches,  attached  to 
one  end.  Each  piece  constitutes  a  shelter-half,  and  two 
pitched  together  afford  shelter  for  two  men.  The  halves 
are  buttoned  together  over  slender  jointed  poles,  supported 
by  similar  poles,  also  part  of  the  equipment,  so  that  the  ridge 
is  nearly  4  feet  from  the  ground  and  the  base  of  the  tent  is 
5  feet  5  inches  in  length.  One  end  is  closed  by  the  flaps  at 
an  outward  angle,  which  increases  the  length  by  12  inches. 
The  other  end  is  open.  Four  detachable  straps  and  buckles 


206 


MILITARY  HYGIENE 


serve  to  make  the  half  the  cover  for  a  compact  clothing  roll 
when  desired.  When  dry  each  half  weighs  three  pounds  and 
two  ounces,  but  its  weight  is  much  increased  by  rain.  As 
the  name  implies,  this  tent  furnishes  mere  shelter  against  the 
weather  and  that  is  all.  In  the  field  every  man  carries  his 
shelter  half,  on  the  top  of  his  pack  or  behind  the  saddle;  or, 
when  the  blanket  roll  is  used,  it  makes  a  wrapper  for  it. 
The  pegs  and  jointed  poles,  which  are  light  and  fragile,  are 
carried  in  the  half  or  are  extemporized  as  required.  It  is  pos- 
sible to  unite  two  of  these  tents,  so  that  four  men,  or  half  a 
squad,  may  be  sheltered  together. 


Mason  Cape-Tent  as  a  Garment. 

There  has  very  recently  been  devised  by  Lieutenant  Mason, 
of  the  army,  a  combination  tent  and  water-proof  cape  which, 
Mason  cape-  notwithstanding  the  inherent  objection  against 
tent  any  article  attempting  to  discharge  two  diverse 

functions,  is  sufficiently  plausible  to  warrant  trial  on  a  large 


CAMPS 


207 


scale.  Pitched  as  a  tent  it  is  a  low  cone  supported  by  a 
central  jointed  rod  (the  inventor  prefers  the  rifle)  and  held 
to  the  ground  by  pegs.  The  base  is  about  seven  feet  in 


Mason  Cape-Tent  pitched  for  One  Occupant. 


Mason  Cape-Tent  for  Two  (Waterproof  Floor). 

diameter  and  the  height  sufficient  for  simple  shelter.  On  a 
very  wet  or  crowded  site  two  men  may  cooperate,  one  supply- 
ing a  water-proof  floor-cover  and  the  other  the  tent.  As  a 
cape  it  is  a  complete  covering  except  for  the  head  and  fore- 
arms, and  it  is  large  enough  to  wear  over  the  blanket-roll  if 


208  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

required.  Not  worn  as  a  cape,  it  may  enclose  the  blanket- 
roll  or  lie  folded  on  the  knapsack.  The  material  is  strong, 
light  cotton,  water-proofed  with  lanolin,  permeable  to  air  and 
not  subject  to  mildew.  It  weighs  five  pounds.  As  either  tent 
or  cape  it  probably  will  be  efficient.  Difficulty  will  arise  when 
a  man  on  duty  in  a  severe  rain  must  transform  his  tent  into 
a  water-proof  cape  or  cloak.  This  might  be  avoided  if  it 
could  be  arranged  that  two  men  should  always  tent  to- 
gether and  that  both  would  not  require  to  wear  their  capes 
simultaneously. 

Hospital  tents  are  larger  wall  tents  (14  by  15  feet  at  the 
base  with  a  4-foot  wall  and  the  ridge  12  feet  from  the  ground) 
Hospital  that  may  be  freely  opened  at  each  end  and  thrown 
tent  together  in  extension.  These  always  have  flies, 

to  protect  against  heavy  rains  and  lessen  the  internal  heat. 
Nevertheless  in  very  hot  climates  the  temperature  within  all 
tents,  due  to  the  thinness  of  the  walls,  is  much  greater  than 
that  within  ordinary  houses.  Munson  has  therefore  devised 
a  tropical  tent  whose  fly  shall  be  white  to  reflect  the  sun's 
rays,  and  the  tent  itself  be  drab.  The  fly,  which  is  2  feet 
longer  and  4  feet  wider  than  that  of  the  standard  tent,  rests 
on  a  false  ridge  one  foot  above  the  true  ridge  and  2  feet 
longer.  A  section  of  the  tent  roof  4  feet  wide  (2  feet  on 
Munson's  each  side  of  the  ridge)  and  12  feet  long  is  re- 
tent  placed  by  a  rope  netting.  This  is  to  secure  ridge 

ventilation,  and  the  netted  opening  may  be  closed  in  whole 
or  in  part  in  bad  weather  by  a  supplementary  flap.  It  has 
been  found  that  in  very  hot  weather  the  temperature  in  such 
a  tent  has  averaged  7°  F.  less  than  in  an  ordinary  hospital 
tent  and  it  has  been  as  much  as  18.5°  F.  lower  than  in  a 
conical  tent.  This  principle  with  a  modification  of  the  plan 
has  been  adopted  in  the  tropical  tents  of  the  wall  and  hospital 
Tropical  patterns  now  issued  for  hot  climates.  In  the 
wall  tents  wall  tent,  instead  of  using  a  false  ridge  greater 
stability  appears  to  be  secured  by  sewing  a  strip  of  can- 
vas 12  inches  wide  into  each  side  of  the  roof  12  inches  per- 


CAMPS  209 

pendicularly  below  the  ridge.  This  makes  the  floor  of  a  tri- 
angular pocket,  known  as  the  ventilator,  the  length  of  the 
tent  and  at  its  highest  part.  In  this  floor  are  six  holes  six 
inches  in  diameter.  Triangular  flaps  at  each  extremity  of 
the  pocket  may  be  opened  or  closed  at  pleasure.  When 
opened,  the  natural  draught  carries  the  warmer  air  into  the 
ventilator,  whence  it  escapes.  In  each  end  of  the  tent  is  a 
canvas  door  and  the  whole  of  either  end  may  be  opened  and 
folded  back.  This  tent  is  almost  exactly  9  feet  square. 
It  is  7  feet  6  inches  from  the  floor  to  the  ventilator,  and 
the  wall  is  3  feet  9  inches  high.  It  has  the  same  fly  as  the 
ordinary  wall  tent. 

The  tropical  hospital  tent  is  14  by  15  feet  at  the  base,  and 
any  required  number  may  be  placed  in  extension.  The 
wall  is  4  feet  7  inches  high;  it  is  10  feet  6  inches  Tropical 
to  the  floor  of  the  ventilator;  the  depth  of  the  hospital  tent 
ventilating  pocket  is  18  inches;  and  the  ridge  pole  is  12 
feet  from  the  ground.  The  base  of  the  ventilator  contains 
four  holes  each  one  foot  in  diameter,  and  each  side  of  the 
pocket  has  four  holes  each  six  inches  in  diameter.  A  mov- 
able flap  closes  each  extremity  of  the  pocket  under  the  ridge, 
and,  when  these  are  open,  theoretically  there  will  be  a  cur- 
rent in  one  direction  or  the  other,  supplied  by  the  air  escap- 
ing from  the  body  of  the  tent  and  assisted  by  that  entering 
or  escaping  from  the  lateral  openings.  This  supplies  an  ex- 
cellent type  of  ridge  ventilation.  A  small  fly  6  feet  wide 
(3  feet  on  each  side)  is  stitched  the  length  of  the  tent  to  the 
top  of  the  pocket,  to  be  extended  or  brailed  up  as  desired. 
This  guards  against  reverse  currents  and  against  draughts 
from  too  rapid  change  of  air.  The  ordinary  fly  covers  the 
whole  tent.  A  canvas  door  is  at  each  end,  and  the  ends 
themselves  may  be  closed  or  be  folded  entirely  back. 

The  best  military  tents  are  made  of  cotton  duck,  which  is 
permeable  to  air  when  dry  and  whose  fibres  when  wet  swell 
sufficiently  to  exclude  ordinary  rain.  Tents  of  good  cotton 
duck  with  sound  flies  when  properly  pitched  shed  water  even 


208  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

required.  Not  worn  as  a  cape,  it  may  enclose  the  blanket- 
roll  or  lie  folded  on  the  knapsack.  The  material  is  strong, 
light  cotton,  water-proofed  with  lanolin,  permeable  to  air  and 
not  subject  to  mildew.  It  weighs  five  pounds.  As  either  tent 
or  cape  it  probably  will  be  efficient.  Difficulty  will  arise  when 
a  man  on  duty  in  a  severe  rain  must  transform  his  tent  into 
a  water-proof  cape  or  cloak.  This  might  be  avoided  if  it 
could  be  arranged  that  two  men  should  always  tent  to- 
gether and  that  both  would  not  require  to  wear  their  capes 
simultaneously. 

Hospital  tents  are  larger  wall  tents  (14  by  15  feet  at  the 
base  with  a  4-foot  wall  and  the  ridge  12  feet  from  the  ground) 
Hospital  that  may  be  freely  opened  at  each  end  and  thrown 
tent  together  in  extension.  These  always  have  flies, 

to  protect  against  heavy  rains  and  lessen  the  internal  heat. 
Nevertheless  in  very  hot  climates  the  temperature  within  all 
tents,  due  to  the  thinness  of  the  walls,  is  much  greater  than 
that  within  ordinary  houses.  Munson  has  therefore  devised 
a  tropical  tent  whose  fly  shall  be  white  to  reflect  the  sun's 
rays,  and  the  tent  itself  be  drab.  The  fly,  which  is  2  feet 
longer  and  4  feet  wider  than  that  of  the  standard  tent,  rests 
on  a  false  ridge  one  foot  above  the  true  ridge  and  2  feet 
longer.  A  section  of  the  tent  roof  4  feet  wide  (2  feet  on 
Munson's  each  side  of  the  ridge)  and  12  feet  long  is  re- 
tent  placed  by  a  rope  netting.  This  is  to  secure  ridge 
ventilation,  and  the  netted  opening  may  be  closed  in  whole 
or  in  part  in  bad  weather  by  a  supplementary  flap.  It  has 
been  found  that  in  very  hot  weather  the  temperature  in  such 
a  tent  has  averaged  7°  F.  less  than  in  an  ordinary  hospital 
tent  and  it  has  been  as  much  as  18.5°  F.  lower  than  in  a 
conical  tent.  This  principle  with  a  modification  of  the  plan 
has  been  adopted  in  the  tropical  tents  of  the  wall  and  hospital 
Tropical  patterns  now  issued  for  hot  climates.  In  the 
wall  tents  wan  tent,  instead  of  using  a  false  ridge  greater 
stability  appears  to  be  secured  by  sewing  a  strip  of  can- 
vas 12  inches  wide  into  each  side  of  the  roof  12  inches  per- 


CAMPS  209 

pendicularly  below  the  ridge.  This  makes  the  floor  of  a  tri- 
angular pocket,  known  as  the  ventilator,  the  length  of  the 
tent  and  at  its  highest  part.  In  this  floor  are  six  holes  six 
inches  in  diameter.  Triangular  flaps  at  each  extremity  of 
the  pocket  may  be  opened  or  closed  at  pleasure.  When 
opened,  the  natural  draught  carries  the  warmer  air  into  the 
ventilator,  whence  it  escapes.  In  each  end  of  the  tent  is  a 
canvas  door  and  the  whole  of  either  end  may  be  opened  and 
folded  back.  This  tent  is  almost  exactly  9  feet  square. 
It  is  7  feet  6  inches  from  the  floor  to  the  ventilator,  and 
the  wall  is  3  feet  9  inches  high.  It  has  the  same  fly  as  the 
ordinary  wall  tent. 

The  tropical  hospital  tent  is  14  by  15  feet  at  the  base,  and 
any  required  number  may  be  placed  in  extension.  The 
wall  is  4  feet  7  inches  high;  it  is  10  feet  6  inches  Tropical 
to  the  floor  of  the  ventilator;  the  depth  of  the  hospitaltent 
ventilating  pocket  is  18  inches;  and  the  ridge  pole  is  12 
feet  from  the  ground.  The  base  of  the  ventilator  contains 
four  holes  each  one  foot  in  diameter,  and  each  side  of  the 
pocket  has  four  holes  each  six  inches  in  diameter.  A  mov- 
able flap  closes  each  extremity  of  the  pocket  under  the  ridge, 
and,  when  these  are  open,  theoretically  there  will  be  a  cur- 
rent in  one  direction  or  the  other,  supplied  by  the  air  escap- 
ing from  the  body  of  the  tent  and  assisted  by  that  entering 
or  escaping  from  the  lateral  openings.  This  supplies  an  ex- 
cellent type  of  ridge  ventilation.  A  small  fly  6  feet  wide 
(3  feet  on  each  side)  is  stitched  the  length  of  the  tent  to  the 
top  of  the  pocket,  to  be  extended  or  brailed  up  as  desired. 
This  guards  against  reverse  currents  and  against  draughts 
from  too  rapid  change  of  air.  The  ordinary  fly  covers  the 
whole  tent.  A  canvas  door  is  at  each  end,  and  the  ends 
themselves  may  be  closed  or  be  folded  entirely  back. 

The  best  military  tents  are  made  of  cotton  duck,  which  is 
permeable  to  air  when  dry  and  whose  fibres  when  wet  swell 
sufficiently  to  exclude  ordinary  rain.  Tents  of  good  cotton 
duck  with  sound  flies  when  properly  pitched  shed  water  even 


210  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

in  heavy  storms.  Linen  duck,  which  has  been  used  in  ex- 
ceptional circumstances,  allows  heavy  rain  to  soak  through. 
T  nta  "^ut  water  may  Pass  ty  conduction  through  any 

saturated  canvas  when  a  solid  body  is  in  con- 
tact,  or  when  it   settles  in  hollows  in  the  roof.     It  is  an 
elementary   lesson   in    camp    life,    frequently    marking    the 
condition  that  makes  for  comfort  or  discomfort,   which  new 
troops  sometimes  acquire  only  by  experience,  that  the  cords 
must  be  loosened,  not  cast  off,  when  it  rains,  lest  their  con- 
traction  when  wet  should  draw  the  pins;  and  con- 
versely they  should  be  tightened  as  they  dry  after 
the  rain.     Where  the  dew  is  very  heavy,  to  avoid  annoyance 
this  must  be  done  regularly  night  and  morning.     The  pins 
that  hold  the  cords  should  in  most  soils  be  set  nearly  parallel 
to  the  pitch  of  the  roof  or  of  the  fly,  and  not  at  an  opposing 
angle  as  recruits  incline  to  attempt.     In  order  that  the  roof 
may  not  catch  water  as  well  as  for  appearance  sake,  tents 
should  always  be  pitched  smoothly  and  carefully.     For  mili- 
tary reasons  all  canvas,  including  wagon  covers, 
should  be  tan  or  drab  in  color;    which  is  also  a 
hygienic  advantage,  in  that  such  a  tent  is  less  attractive  to 
flies  than  one  that  is  glaring  white.     Dry  canvas  is  freely 
permeable  by  air,  but  when  it  is  wet,  although  rain  will  be 
excluded  the  saturated  and  swollen  fibres  prevent  the  inter- 
change of  gases  with  the  outer  air  and  confine  the 
Ventilation        ..  .  ?  ; 

aerial  organic  particles,  so  that  a  closed  wet  tent 

when  occupied  speedily  becomes  offensive  to  the  sense  of 
smell  and  poisonous  to  the  inmates.  Wet  or  dry,  even  allow- 
mg  for  probable  absentees,  as  the  official  assignment  of 
enlisted  men  to  all  but  the  shelter  tents  is  too  great  for  per- 
manent occupation,  pains  should  always  be  taken  to  insure 
ventilation,  even  at  some  expense  of  heat.  But  the  tempera- 
ture of  any  tent  may  be  made  comfortable  by 
a  handful  of  coals  trom  a  camp-fire  in  a  little 
excavation  in  the  earthen  floor.  With  a  wooden  floor  of 
course  this  is  impracticable.  The  conical  tents  are  expressly 


CAMPS  211 

arranged  for  artificial  heat,  but  any  variety  of  wall  tent 
can  use  the  sheet-iron  field  stove  safely  only  in  connec- 
tion with  Davis's  asbestos  collar  or  some  similar  device.  No 
tent  is  properly  pitched  until  it  is  ditched.  The  tent  ditch 

should  be  six  inches  wide   (or  the  width  of  the    , 

Ditching 
spade)  by  four  inches  deep  directly  at  the  base  of 

the  wall,  and  the  earth  should  be  thrown  upon  the  sod-cloth, 
or  towards  the  tent  if  the  walls  are  not  lowered.  The  object 
is  not  to  drain  the  tent  but  to  prevent  rain-water  entering  it. 
This  ditch  from  its  lowest  point  should  follow  the  natural 
slope  of  the  ground  into  the  company  ditch.  If  the  tent 
stands  on  a  natural  slope  there  need  be  no  ditch  on  the 
lower  side.  To  ditch  every  tent  invariably  and  immediately, 
regardless  of  the  appearance  of  the  weather  (the  California 
summer  excepted),  should  never  be  omitted,  for  the  habit 
is  valuable  to  acquire  and  its  neglect  may  lead  to  flooding 
from  sudden  rain.  The  company  streets  and  other  spaces 
are  to  be  promptly  laid  out  and  a  careful  system  of  drainage 
arranged,  certainly  not  later  than  the  second  day,  for  very 
little  camp  labor  is  more  profitable. 

Tactical  considerations  permitting,  tents  should  open  to  the 
east  so  that  they  may  be  flooded  with  the  early  sunlight.  The 
tent  walls  should  be  raised  for  several  hours  every  ^he  general 
fair  day,  all  the  bedding  and  the  coverings,  if  any,  economy  of 
over  the  floor  be  withdrawn  and  exposed  to  the  tent  Uf e 
sun,  and  every  particle  of  refuse  removed  and  if  possible 
burned.  When  the  weather  permits,  the  leeward  side  of  the 
tents  may  be  raised  at  night.  If  floored,  every  board  should 
be  loose  and  be  removed  frequently  and  the  ground  beneath 
cleansed.  A  fixed  floor  is  neater  in  appearance,  but  waste 
matter  will  work  beneath  and  cannot  be  reached.  The  con- 
stant temptation  to  conceal  articles  under  loose  floor  boards 
is  to  be  controlled  by  vigilant  inspection.  In  a  fixed  camp 
wall  tents  in  particular  may  be  gratefully  protected  from  the 
summer  sun  and  additional  sheltered  space  may  be  gained 
occasionally,  by  throwing  up  light  booths  of  branches  above 


212  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  in  front  of  the  tents.  Very  trifling  supervision  will  pre- 
vent excess  or  the  appearance  of  disorder,  and  the  relief  from 
torrid  rays  compensates  for  the  moderate  labor  and  slight 
attention  that  are  necessary.  Every  tent  should  have  adjacent 
to  it  at  least  an  equal,  and  by  preference  a  double,  vacant  area 
in  addition  to  the  company  street,  and  be  changed  to  the 
alternate  site  every  week  or  ten  days,  and  the  old  site  be 
scraped  and  exposed  to  the  sun.  Care  should  be  taken  that 
the  inter-tent  spaces  are  not  walked  over  unnecessarily  or 
denied.  When  practicable,  the  entire  camp  should  occa- 
sionally be  moved  if  only  a  few  hundred  yards,  better  a  greater 
distance,  to  fresh  soil.  Permanent  camps  should  be  as  open 
or  widespread  as  possible,  for  the  evils  of  overcrowding  and 
the  necessity  for  fresh  air,  the  want  of  ventilation,  and  the 
accumulation  of  debris  increase  directly  with  the  size  of  the 
command.  Occasionally  there  is  a  specious  but  unreal  ex- 
pansion, as  when  a  division  or  a  corps  spreads  over  a  wide 
area  while  the  regimental  camps  are  condensed  and  crowded. 
Undue  crowding  of  men  within  company  or  regimental  lines 
is  not  compensated  by  vast  intervening  spaces  for  exercise 
or  drill. 

In  camps  of  any  permanence,  especially  in  cool  weather, 
log  walls  from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet  high,  chinked  with 
Log  bases  mud,  are  often  raised  and  the  shelter  tents  used 
and  excava-  as  roofs;  and  in  camps  of  position  in  the  winter 
turns  soldiers  are  tempted  to  burrow  for  warmth.  Negro 

troops  are  particularly  prone  to  such  undermining.  Neither 
the  walls  nor  the  cellars  can  be  shifted  and  in  both  their  inter- 
nal police  must  be  the  more  carefully  enforced.  Excavation 
is  usually  deleterious  from  the  tendency  of  gases  of  decom- 
position below  the  frost  line  to  drift  laterally  into  these  as  into 
other  cellars,  and  sometimes  from  dampness.  Occasionally  it 
may  be  tolerated  in  very  pure  and  dry  soil,  but  the  question 
should  be  determined  by  examination  in  advance  and  be 
controlled  by  orders. 

Where  timber  is  available  the  best  camps  of  position,  or 


CAMPS 


213 


Smart's  hut 


cantonments,  are  huts.     The  late  Colonel  Smart,  of  the  Medical 

Department  of  the  army,  suggested  a  modification  of  the 

practice  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  follows: 

Inside  area  13  by  7  feet,  to  the  eaves  6  feet,  to  the 

ridge  10  feet,  with  a  door  in  the  middle  of  one  long  side  and  a 

chimney  directly  opposite  but  outside  the  wall.     There  would 

be  a  double  bunk  on  each  side  of  the  doorway. 

There  should  be  a  canvas  roof  14  by  12  feet  with 

a    larger    fly,    both    detachable    for    transportation.     This 

hut  is  large  enough,  for  an  increase  in  size  in  any  direction 

would  mean  more  inmates  and  relative  crowding.     A  better 

arrangement  for  squads  of  eight,  the  drill  unit  for  offence, 

would  be  two  huts  each  8  by  11  feet  in  the  clear, 

Squad  huts 

6  feet  to  the  eaves,  and  10  feet  to  the  ridge,  stand- 
ing end  to  end  6  feet  apart  with  doors  in  the  adjacent  ends 
opening  upon  a  communicating  porch  or  platform,  the  whole 
to  be  covered  by  one  continuous  canvas  or  other  roof.  If 
the  roof  is  of  canvas  there  should  also  be  a  fly.  Each  of  the 
pair  should  have  two  platforms,  6  feet  6  inches  by  4  feet 
6  inches,  one  lengthwise  and  one  across  the  end.  These 
platforms  would  accommodate  two  men  apiece  lying  with  their 


11  ft.  n  ft. 

Ground  Plan  of  Squad  Huts  for  Four,  each  with  Covered  Porch. 

heads  adjacent.  The  covered  intermediate  porch  would  be 
6  feet  by  9  feet  in  the  clear,  the  sleeping-platforms  to  be  open 
beneath,  and  under  no  pretence  should  two-story  bunks  be 
allowed.  In  the  absence  of  timber,  adobe  walls  or  wattle 
plastered  with  clay  are  available  for  these  huts.  The  mini- 
mum space  between  huts  in  the  same  row  should  equal  the 
height  of  the  walls,  and  the  passage  in  the  rear  should  equal 


214  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  height  of  the  ridge.     The  intervening  spaces  should  always 
be  carefully  policed,  for  pollution  there  will  ultimately  defile 

the  air  that  is  drawn  into  the  huts.  All  ordinary 
Policing 

refuse  should  be  burned,  if  military  considera- 
tions permit.  Otherwise  it  must  be  removed  where  it  will 
not  be  offensive  to  any  camp,  or  be  buried.  Hut  sites  are  to 
be  well  rammed  and  to  be  ditched  as  with  tents,  for  the  health 
of  the  inmates.  Company  streets  should  be  thoroughly 
drained,  because  dry  streets  are  important  for  company  for- 
mations, and  the  whole  camp  ground  be  systematically  freed 
from  dust  and  moisture  alike.  In  the  peace  camps  for  manoeu- 
vres and  instruction  the  application  of  crude  mineral  oil  has 
been  found  to  keep  down  the  dust  and  to  be  deterrent  to 
flies.  A  wet  or  even  a  moist  camp  will  soon  be  trampled  into 
a  mire,  from  which  the  ground-air  may  take  up  poisons. 

Abandoned  camp-grounds  are  always  liable  to  be  foci  of 
disease  and  are  never  to  be  reoccupied.     So  with  a  deserted 

cantonment  of  huts,  however  tempting  such  shelter 

may  appear.  Only  the  most  vital  exigency  allows 
this  general  and  imperative  rule  to  be  disregarded.  The  one 
exception  is  a  camp  of  instruction  maintained  from  year  to 
Camps  of  year  and  elaborately  provided  with  systems  of 
instruction  pure  water  and  with  sanitary  conservancy.  These 
may  be  revisited  indefinitely  without  harm  as  long  as  the 
prescribed  precautions  are  observed,  for  they  are  military 
camps  only  nominally.  That  is  from  the  sanitary  view-point 
they  are  such  only  in  name.  As  seminaries  of  practical  infor- 
mation in  the  minor  movements  of  troops  they  excel.  They 
also  exemplify  a  sanitary  ideal  and  are  object-lessons  of  a 
perfection  impossible  of  attainment  in  the  field  of  war,  but 
always  to  be  sought  for  there.  There  is  some  danger  that  these 
valuable  centres  of  tactical  instruction  and  of  the  rudiments 
of  life  under  canvas  may  be  so  completely  misunderstood  as 
representing  the  possibilities  of  warfare,  as  to  lead  to  unmerited 
censure  on  the  one  hand  and  despair  on  the  other  when  armies 
are  collected  for  active  service. 


CAMPS  215 

In  fixed  camps  and  also  in  garrison  constant  occupation 
and  reasonable  amusement  are  indispensable  for  health  and 
efficiency.  A  marching  column  is  always  healthy,  occupation 
and  the  sick-list  grows  with  the  age  of  the  camp,  and  amuse- 
Excursions  beyond  the  camp  lines,  reconnoissances  ment 
in  form  or  in  fact,  problem  marches  in  peace,  reconnoitring 
in  war,  have  a  marked  sanitary  advantage  in  stimulating  the 
mind  and  developing  the  body,  rendered  stagnant  and  in- 
active by  ceaseless  routine  with  no  appreciable  result,  as 
well  as  by  the  more  immediate  military  interest  they  arouse 
and  the  technical  instruction  they  supply.  In  all  winter 
camps  systematic  efforts  to  amuse  the  men  are  important. 
These  may  include  dramatic,  minstrel,  and  vaudeville  enter- 
tainments by  the  men  themselves,  vigorous  athletic  games  in 
which  numbers  join,  lectures  by  officers  on  practical  subjects, 
and  especially  music.  Martial  music  particularly  appeals  to 
most  men,  and  good  bands  are  not  only  good  hygienic  agents 
but  when  bands  are  suppressed,  as  sometimes  happens,  the 
whole  command  loses  heart.  The  dreary  monotony  of  winter 
camps,  the  limited  quarters,  poor  opportunities  for  cleanli- 
ness, indifferent  light,  long  evenings  and  delayed  dawns,  are 
wretchedly  depressing  and  lead  the  unstable  nervous  equili- 
brium to  seek  relief  through  the  abuse  of  cards,  tobacco,  and 
alcohol.  This  tendency,  which  in  a  minor  degree  also  per- 
vades the  garrisons  of  posts,  should  be  constantly  remembered, 
and  if  an  efficient  and  hopeful  command  is  to  be  maintained 
the  horrible  ennui  must  be  dissipated. 


XXV 

CONSERVANCY   IN    CAMP   AND   GARRISON 

Conservancy  is  the  technical  military  term  for  the  dispo- 
sition of  waste,  which  is  so  serious  a  sanitary  problem  at 
permanent  posts  and  in  the  field.  That  waste  which  follows 

the  mere  act  of  living   is   a   necessary   accompa- 
Couservancy 

niment  of  animal  existence.     All  body-waste  is 

offensive  and  some  of  it  is  actually  harmful,  and  its  disposal 
is  a  serious  problem  which  increases  in  complexity  with  the 
size  of  the  command  and  the  time  that  a  position  is  occupied. 
The  care  of  garbage  and  other  rapidly  accumulating  refuse  is 
a  minor  but  important  phase  of  the  same  question.  Human 
waste  should  be  properly  and  promptly  cared  for  on  two 
accounts,  its  inherent  filthiness  and  the  risk  of  infection. 
Cholera,  for  instance,  is  propagated  by  the  discharges  of  the 
Danger  from  ill,  not  merely  through  contaminated  water  but 
excreta  by  accidental  contact  with  the  mouth  in  other 
ways.  This  is  also  true  of  some  forms  of  dysentery  and  per- 
haps of  some  diarrhoeas.  Typhoid  fever  owes  its  spread  to 
the  intestinal  and,  in  a  degree,  to  the  urinary  discharges 
from  not  merely  the  ill  but  occasionally  from  those  who  are 
apparently  well,  as  will  be  explained  later.  Now  it  is  true 
that  cholera  is  not  a  common  disease  and  infective  dysentery 
is  relatively  rare,  but  one  of  the  objects  of  military  discipline 
is  to  accustom  men  to  do  habitually  and  as  a  matter  of  course 
and  without  special  direction  those  things  which  make  for 
efficiency.  The  drill  of  mind  and  body  that  transforms  the 
civilian  into  the  soldier  is  not  postponed  until  the  day  of 
battle.  Sanitary  drill  as  part  of  a  soldier's  education  should 
not  be  deferred  until  an  epidemic  is  upon  us,  but  should  make 
the  men  automata  in  the  habitual  practice  of  everything 

216 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         217 

that  pertains  to  decency  and  health.  Nothing  so  directly 
marks  ill-disciplined  troops  as  soil-pollution  from  human 
waste. 

The  first  duty  on  halting  for  the  day  is  to  post  sentinels 
over  the  water-supply  and  to  designate  a  place  at  which  to 
attend  to  the  calls  of  nature.  Sinks,  sometimes  mistermed 
latrines  (which  implies  the  presence  of  water), 
are  to  be  prepared  with  the  first  tools.  The 
pioneers'  spades  and  axes  would  be  most  profitably  used  thus 
at  once;  but  in  the  absence  of  pioneers,  intrenching  tools 
will  serve.  The  only  exception  to  the  rule  for  the  immediate 
preparation  of  sinks  is  when  the  command  is  very  small,  goes 
into  bivouac  after  dark,  is  certain  to  march  the  next  day,  and 
it  is  known  that  none  will  follow.  Even  then  the  men  must 
use  a  specified  area,  and  when  the  command  moves  a  police 
party  should  carefully  cover  the  deposits.  On  the  march  the 
calls  of  nature  must  be  attended  to,  and  it  is  customary  to 
halt,  partly  for  this  purpose,  after  half  an  hour's  on  the 
advance.  The  formation  of  a  long  column  must  march 
be  respected,  and  all  the  men  cannot  be  concentrated;  but 
smaller  units  may  use  one  neighborhood  and  all  who  leave 
the  ranks  should  be  required  to  resort  to  the  same  side  of  the 
road,  preferably  the  leeward.  All  such  waste  must  be  care- 
fully covered,  if  not  by  the  man  himself  with  the  squad's 
intrenching  spade,  then  by  a  fatigue  party  under  a  non- 
commissioned officer.  In  the  tropics  this  may  be  done  by 
a  native  working-party,  if  attached,  similarly  supervised. 
The  injunction,  sometimes  given,  to  scrape  loose  earth  with 
the  foot  or  the  bayonet  over  the  excreta,  is  bad;  for  these 
may  become  contaminated  in  the  very  effort,  so  that  the  man 
would  carry  the  pollution  along  with  him.  The  importance 
of  not  indiscriminately  defiling  the  roadside  is  so  great  that 
the  order  for  the  day's  march  should  announce  the  flank  to 
be  used  for  this  purpose,  and  the  regimental  officers  should 
see  that  the  order  is  obeyed.  The  officer  of  the  day  or  of 
the  guard  should  be  responsible  for  the  proper  covering  of 


218  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  excreta.  When  the  men  understand  that  neglect  of 
those  precautions  may  embarrass  those  who  follow,  may 
seriously  trouble  a  friendly  countryside,  may  prove  a  nuisance 
to  themselves  countermarching,  and  at  any  time  may  spread 
disease,  decent  soldiery  will  willingly  cooperate.  Officers  who 
appreciate  the  significance  of  the  situation  will  not  allow  the 
disagreeable  nature  of  the  duty  to  interfere  with  its  strict  dis- 
charge. 

Camps,  even  bivouacs,  may  distinctly  differ  in  peace  and  in 
war.  The  bivouac  of  a  command  on  an  undisturbed  practice 
Emergency  march  or  a  change  of  station  may  be  very  unlike 
sink  one  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  or  in  pursuit 

or  retreat.  But  they  have  this  in  common.:  the  water-supply 
must  be  guarded  and  sinks  provided.  For  a  large  or  a  some- 
what stable  command,  this  provision  should  be  identical  with 
those  in  camps.  For  a  detachment,  especially  for  one  in 
transit,  the  simplest  device  is  that  advocated  by  Lieut.  Col. 
Firth,  R.A.M.C.,  which  may  be  called  the  emergency  sink. 
It  is  a  row  of  short  trenches  not  more  than  three  feet  apart, 
each  two  feet  deep,  three  feet  long,  and  one  foot  wide,  to  be 
used  by  only  one  person  at  a  time,  which  the  man  bestrides 
without  occasion  to  befoul  the  sides.  If  the  removed  earth 
is  properly  preserved,  these  may  readily  be  filled  and  fresh 
ones  opened  as  required.  Sinks  of  the  same  type,  not  more 
than  a  foot  deep,  may  very  properly  be  dug  behind  a  tem- 
porary or  other  screen  at  the  noon  halt  on  a  march,  to  be 
filled  on  departure. 

Camps  are  of  two  kinds:  for  instruction  in  peace  and  for 
active  service  in  war.  Besides  discharging  their  proclaimed 
purpose,  camps  of  instruction  are  admirable  in  demonstrat- 
ing that,  certain  precautions  being  observed,  thousands  of 
men  may  live  under  canvas  for  weeks  without  becoming  ill 
from  conditions  induced  by  each  other's  presence.  And  what 
is  true  of  these  mixed  camps  of  regulars  and  National  Guards- 
men may  become  approximately  true  of  camps  of  concentra- 
tion in  impending  war.  For  fixed  camps  the  Quartermaster's 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         219 

Department  supplies  certain  mechanical  contrivances  in  lieu 
of  sinks.  A  convenient  form  is  the  Reed  pattern.  This  is 
a  galvanized-iron  trough  forming  a  latrine  that  Reed  trough 
holds  water  and  crude  petroleum,  whose  contents  latrine 
are  pumped  daily,  or  oftener,  into  an  odorless  wheeled  tank, 
to  be  emptied  into  a  ravine  or  artificial  pit  at  a  suitable 
distance.  That  should  have  seats  and  covers,  although  it 
may  be  used  without  either.  The  excreta  should  be  the 
only  waste  it  receives.  The  object  of  the  crude  petroleum 
is  for  disinfection  and  to  banish  the  flies,  the  importance 
of  which  will  appear  later.  As  a  mechanical  contrivance 
may  become  deranged  or  broken,  so  it  is  found  with  this  that 
solid  matter,  including  insoluble  paper,  may  clog  the  pipes, 
and  that  the  petroleum  decays  the  rubber  or  leather  valves, 
a  minute  rift  in  which  destroys  suction.  As  the  petroleum 
is  too  important  to  be  relinquished,  the  valves  should  be 
metallic.  The  working  allowance  of  this  apparatus  is  one 
standard  trough  for  two  companies  and  one  wheeled  excava- 
tor for  1400  men,  with  spare  parts  and  an  occasional  extra 
machine  for  emergencies.  As  no  such  apparatus  can  be 
automatic,  much  of  its  efficiency  depends  upon  the  intelli- 
gence and  care  with  which  it  is  managed.  Ordinarily  the 
excavator  cart  will  be  manipulated  by  Quartermaster's 
employees  or  by  men  of  a  Service  Corps.  Besides,  a  man  (by 
preference  from  the  organization  using  it)  must  be  present 
when  the  trough  is  emptied;  he  should  introduce  Care  of 
water  three  inches  deep  at  the  higher  end,  spread  troughs 
a  pint  of  crude  oil  over  this  water,  maintain  a  supply  of  toilet 
paper  at  the  latrine,  and  keep  the  interior  and  the  surround- 
ings scrupulously  clean.  Disagreeable  as  such  care  of  the 
apparatus  may  seem  at  first,  it  should  be  possible,  through 
the  intelligent  interest  and  encouragement  of  the  officers, 
for  the  men  to  realize  that  such  duty  is  preventive  importance 
of  disease  and  conducive  to  decency  and  is  as  o* tllis  dut7 
honorable  and  more  effective  than  some  other  forms  of  fatigue. 
It  should  never  be  degraded  as  merely  work  for  prisoners,  but 


220  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

this  and  the  kindred  duty  of  the  care  of  the  field  sinks  may 
well  be  made  into  tours  of  a  few  hours  each.  It  is  legitimate 
and  important  orderly  duty.  If  officers  discredit  it,  the  men 
will  slight  it;  if  they  dignify  the  work  and  insist  upon  its 
importance,  the  men  will  respond.  Company  officers  should 
constantly  remember  that  the  art  of  military  sanitation, 
upon  which  the  vigor  if  not  the  very  existence  of  an  army 
may  depend,  is  the  resultant  of  independent  but  correlated 
activities,  and  that  the  great  achievement  of  keeping  a  com- 
mand free  from  disease  requires  the  proper  exercise  of  all  of 
them.  Should  this  work  be  laid  on  civilian  laborers,  they 
must  be  held  to  a  strict  and  unremitting  responsibility. 
Admirable  as  these  appliances  are  for  a  field  camp,  or  for 
a  moderate  command  whose  movements  are  leisurely  and 
pre-deter mined,  their  availability  diminishes  directly  as  the 
TTnsuited  for  s*ze  an(^  activity  of  the  field  forces  increase, 
large  and  They  simply  cannot  be  at  hand  when  wanted,  so 
active  that  the  nearer  a  column  is  to  a  hostile  front  the 

more  inapplicable  are  they  for  its  needs,  and  the 
wider  and  more  rapid  the  military  operations  by  so  much 
must  these  be  left  behind.  This  is  even  more  the  case  with 
the  portable  earth-closets  whose  contents  are  transferred  by 
hand,  sometimes  issued  in  the  eastern  islands.  The  odor- 
less tank,  which  is  in  the  nature  of  a  movable  water-closet, 
requires  the  soluble  toilet  paper  now  furnished 
by  the  Subsistence  department.  For  economy's 
sake,  as  well  as  to  avoid  sullying  the  appearance  of  the  camp 
through  loose  pieces  blowing  about,  the  paper  should  be 
supplied  in  rolls,  not  in  sheets.  It  is  still  more  important  to 
insist  upon  the  use  of  soluble  paper  in  the  permanent  plumb- 
ing now  generally  installed  in  posts,  which  ignorant  recruits 
are  so  liable  to  derange  with  newspaper,  bits  of  cloth,  and 
sometimes  with  more  unsuitable  objects. 

Incinerators  for  the  disposal  of  excreta  are  not  yet  sufficiently 
developed  to  be  odorless,  or  of  capacity  to  be  available  with- 
out undue  multiplication.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  be 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         221 

familiar  with  and  on  occasion  to  revert  to  the  more  primi- 
tive methods  of  the  field.     This  question  of  sinks  is  one  of 
the  most  important  and  perplexing  in  field  hygiene.       .    ratof 
Sometimes    the    underlying  rock,   at    others  the 
height  of  the  ground-water,  prevents  making  deep  trenches. 
Nothing  then  remains  but  to  use  shallow  ditches,  shallow 
by  necessity  and  design,  to  keep  regiments  far  ^ 

apart,  and  to  make  new  sinks  frequently  until 
formal  and  efficient  apparatus  replaces  them  or  the  camp 
moves.  Sinks  should  not  be  in  the  course  of  winds  that  usually 
blow  toward  the  camp,  although  some  portion  of  a  large  com- 
mand may  be  affected  by  ill- kept  sinks  in  any  situation.  There 
must  always  be  care  that  they  cannot  pollute  the  water-supply 
by  overflow  or  soakage.  The  typical  and  most  useful  field 
sink  (as  distinct  from  apparatus)  is  a  trench  2  feet  wide  at  the 
top,  12  to  20  feet  long,  at  least  3  feet  deep  and  as  much  deeper 
as  may  be  convenient.  There  should  be  a  stout  pole,  sup- 
ported at  a  convenient  height  by  forks,  as  a  seat.  In  a  small 
or  individual  -sink  a  box  seat  open  at  the  rear  is  admirable. 
The  earth  dug  from  the  trench  should  be  thrown  to  the  rear, 
and  in  the  best  camps  the  sod  will  be  preserved  to  be  replaced 
when  the  pit  is  refilled.  Each  evacuation  should  be  covered 
from  the  pile  of  earth  with  a  shovel  that  should  always  be  at 
hand,  and  a  thin  layer  of  fresh  earth  be  spread  over  the  whole 
several  times  a  day.  The  mistake  should  not  be  made  of 
supposing  the  smell  is  the  chief  evil  to  be  overcome.  By 
itself  the  odor  is  of  little  importance  except  as  an  advertise- 
ment. The  real  mischief  is  by  the  conveyance  of  minute 
infectious  particles  among  the  men  by  insects  and  on  the 
clothing  or  the  hands  of  the  men  themselves.  When  available 
quick-lime  is  a  cheap  and  valuable  disinfectant,  but  it  should 
not  be  used  at  all  in  the  Reed  troughs  on  account  of  its  action 
on  the  excavator  hose.  Crude  petroleum  is  better  and  when 
procurable  should  be  freely,  not  wastefully,  employed.  Other- 
wise, and  sometimes  in  addition,  newspaper  or  straw  sprinkled 
with  mineral  oil  may  be  freely  burned  at  the  bottom  of  the 


222  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

sink.  A  serious  and  frequent  evil  is  the  foulness  of  the  rear 
wall,  in  which  case  the  sink  should  be  widened  or  that  surface 
be  drenched  with  oil  and  fired.  The  ground  in  front  of  the 
trench  is  liable  to  become  soaked  with  urine,  against  which 
men  should  be  cautioned,  in  part  for  reasons  to  be  given  later 
and  in  part  because  of  the  mire  that  is  apt  to  follow.  Should 
there  be  risk  of  such  pollution  loose  stones  or  wood  should  be 
laid  along  the  edge.  Sinks  should  be  screened  with  brush  and 
usually  covered  overhead.  When  enclosed  with  canvas,  as 
sometimes  in  fixed  camps,  the  color  should  be  dark,  not  light, 
on  account  of  the  flies.  At  night  the  sink  should  be  lighted 
by  a  lantern.  The  administration  of  these  necessary  adjuncts 
Administra-  is  extremely  difficult,  chiefly  because  its  importance 
tion  of  sinks  is  not  generally  appreciated.  Officers  and  men 
who  with  perfect  fidelity  would  protect  a  front  by  outpost 
and  picket  duty  in  the  worst  of  weather,  shrink  from  what  is 
equally  a  service  of  defence  and  sometimes  is  more  vital. 
Until  the  line  realizes  how  some  serious  diseases  are  spread 
and  cooperates  intelligently  in  limiting  their  diffusion,  these 
will  continue  to  ravage  their  commands;  for  the  artificial  safe- 
guards of  the  camps  of  manoeuvre  cannot  be  invoked  under 
the  conditions  of  war.  Hence  the  sanitary  police  of  company 
sinks  must  be  controlled  by  the  organizations  that  use  them, 
subject  to  general  administrative  supervision.  Besides  their 
stated  sanitary  inspection,  the  officer  of  the  day  should  include 
and  critically  observe  them  in  his  formal  rounds  and  a  corporal 
or  lance  corporal  should  justify  his  chevron  by  enforcing 
obedience  to  their  regulations.  The  proportion  of  sink  accom- 
modation to  the  command  should  be,  in.  yards,  about  8  per 
cent,  of  the  number  of  men;  that  is,  to  every  hundred  men 
about  24  feet  of  trench.  Every  sink  should  be  carefully  filled 
in,  and  preferably  sodded,  when  the  contents  are  a  foot  from 
the  level  of  the  ground.  As  far  as  possible  the  earth  thrown 
in  should  be  pulverized,  and  the  site  of  every  such  sink  should 
be  carefully  marked  for  the  information  of  succeeding  com- 
mands. 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         223 

The  disposal  of  urine  is  another  care,  partly  because  it  is 
offensive  and  partly  because  disease-causing  bacteria  are 
sometimes  voided  with  it.  In  the  day  it  is  better  that  the 
sinks  or  latrines,  if  not  too  distant,  should  be  used.  When 
they  are  too  far  for  convenience,  the  English  make  a  pit 

3  feet  deep  by  2  feet  in  diameter  and  fill  it  with 

Urinals 
large    irregular    stones.     Two    or    more    shallow 

trenches  roughly  paved,  a  foot  wide  and  6  feet  long,  lead  at  a 
slight  grade  to  the  pit,  and  into  these,  not  into  the  pit  itself,  * 
the  men  pass  water.  This  urinal  should  be  screened  and  may 
be  established  anywhere  subject  to  ordinary  sanitary  judg- 
ment. It  is  useless  to  expect  men  to  go  a  considerable  dis- 
tance at  night  for  such  relief,  and  urine  tubs  should  be 
placed  within  or  at  the  end  of  the  company  streets.  The 
best  are  galvanized-iron  cans,  those  for  a  regiment  being 
nested  by  fours  for  convenience  of  transportation.  Lanterns 
should  mark  them  at  night.  Practicable  receptacles  may 
be  extemporized  from  tight  half-barrels,  oil  cans,  and  other 
retainers  of  no  intrinsic  value  which  may  easily  be  discarded. 
These  vessels  should  be  removed  at  reveille,  scrubbed  out 
with  crude  oil,  and  exposed  all  day  to  the  sun  and  air.  They 
are  better  placed  upon  slight  wooden  platforms,  which  help 
to  preserve  the  soil  from  pollution  and  may  be  burned  when 
no  longer  fit  for  use  or  the  camp  is  broken  up.  Urination 
within  the  limits  of  the  camp  elsewhere  than  at  the  desig- 
nated places,  should  be  looked  upon  as  a  serious  misde- 
meanor. 

Besides   the  body-waste  which   is    immediately  offensive 
and  should  always  be  treated  as  dangerous,  whether  specifi- 
cally so  or  not,  there  are  organic  refuse,  vegetable  and  animal, 
from   the    kitchens   and   eating-places,  litter  and    General 
manure    of    the    picket-lines    and    stables,    offal    refuse 
when  animals  are  slaughtered  near  camp,  carcasses  of  horses 
and  mules  dying  from  disease  or  injury,  and  the  heterogene- 
ous rubbish,  ranging  from  tin  cans  and  worn-out  equipment 
to  the  fragments  of  clothing,  boxes,  and  paper  which  multiply 


224  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

in  a  camp  of  any  continuance  and  must  be  disposed  of  for 
the  sake  of  order  if  not  of  decency.  It  is  true  that  common 
refuse  does  not  in  itself  cause  disease,  else  our  cities  would- 
long  ago  have  been  depopulated.  But  as  some  diseases 
thrive  because  of  the  presence  of  refuse  and  as  it  is  impracti- 
cable to  discriminate  between  the  harmless  and  the  harmful, 
to  tolerate  one  would  abet  the  other;  and  at  all  times  neat- 
ness of  place  as  well  as  cleanliness  of  person  are  military 
virtues  to  be  cultivated  for  their  own  sakes.  Fire  is  the 
natural  and  immemorial  purifier,  which  equally  destroys 
visible  waste  and  possible  sources  of  disease.  The  only 
Fire  and  its  legitimate  objection  to  its  use  is  that  it  may  be  a 
management  tell-tale.  The  observation  of  habitual  fires  affords 
an  estimate  of  strength,  and  clouds  of  smoke,  which  unwary 
officers  sometimes  permit  to  be  made  on  breaking  camp, 
convey  significant  information  to  intelligent  scouts  and  some- 
times signal  for  many  miles  across  the  country  the  abandon- 
ment of  a  position.  Desirable  as  it  is  to  leave  no  debris 
on  an  old  camp-ground,  it  is  more  important  not  thus  to 
advertise  an  impending  movement.  In  very  dry  situations  it 
is  a  quasi-sanitary  care  to  make  sure  that  camp  fires  do  not 
ravage  grass  or  forests,  to  say  nothing  of  tents  and  stores. 
Every  fire  in  open  field  or  forest  should  be  extinguished 
before  its  guard  withdraws.  In  some  forests  the  fire  creeps 
along  the  surface  of  the  soil  under  the  superficial  leaves  and 
mould,  breaking  out  at  a  distance.  In  such  regions  every 
fire  should  be  guarded  by  a  wide  ditch  around  its  base,  to 
prevent  it  from  spreading. 

The  primitive  disposal  of  kitchen  waste  is  by  soakage  of 
the  liquids  in  an  artificial  pit,  while  solid  matter  is  put  in  a 
box  or  barrel  for  removal  by  a  police  party.  The  savage 
Kitchen  leaves  such  waste  directly  on  the  surface.  The 
sinks  company  kitchen  should  be  promptly  established 

and,  if  but  for  a  night,  it  should  occupy  the  same  relative 
position  as  if  the  camp  were  to  persist  for  a  month.  As  soon 
as  the  kitchen  is  designated,  the  sinks  should  be  dug,  to  the 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         225 

leeward  if  possible  and  relatively  near.  In  even  the  most 
temporary  camp  slops  should  not  be  thrown  over  the  ground, 
as  careless  civilians  defile  their  kitchen  yards.  In  a  camp  of 
some  duration  where  fire  cannot  be  used,  the  open  sink 
should  give  way  to  a  large  deep  pit,  roofed  with  timber  and 
densely  covered  with  earth  to  exclude  atmospheric  heat, 
accessible  only  through  a  small  trap-door.  In  all  but  clay 
soils  liquids  slowly  drain  away,  putrescence  always  is  de- 
layed by  the  comparative  coolness,  and  flies  avoid  the  dark' 
interior  even  when  there  is  an  open  way.  Where  squads  or 
single  men  make  individual  cook-fires  on  the  march  habits  of 
neatness  should  be  equally  developed,  and  if  the  ground  is 
occupied  after  the  meal  all  organic  remains  should  be  care- 
fully cleared  away.  When  a  water-soaked  soil  makes  sinks 
impossible,  shallow  trenches  may  temporarily  drain  off  liquid 
waste,  trusting  to  soakage  and  to  sprinkling  with  crude  oil 
if  available;  and  garbage  may  be  carefully  covered  with 
fresh  earth  and  with  quick-lime  if  at  hand,  above  or  below 
the  level  of  the  ground.  The  essential  object  is  to  avoid 
exposing  organic  remains  to  flies. 

Where  a  camp  is  to  last  longer  than  a  day  or  two  and 
stone  is  accessible,  an  old-fashioned  fire-pit  should  be  made. 
A  typical  fire-pit  is  from  three  to  five  feet  deep, 
circular,  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  It  is  paved 
with  loose  stones  and  the  circumference  is  lined  with  stone 
or  brick  laid  dry  and  carried  up  12  or  15  inches  above  the 
level  of  the  surface.  Against  this  upper  wall  enough  exca- 
vated earth  is  packed  to  prevent  surface  water  running  in, 
and  at  one  or  two  points  an  incline  is  arranged  for  carts  to 
back  upon.  In  the  centre  is  a  cone  of  large  stones  whose 
purpose  is  to  create  a  draught.  This  is  essential.  A  brisk 
fire  is  started  with  wood  laid  cross-wise  half  way  around  the 
bottom.  When  this  burns  fiercely  all  sorts  of  garbage  may 
be  rapidly  consumed.  The  water  evaporates  and  the  solid 
refuse  offers  itself  as  fuel.  The  stones  become  so  hot  as 
materially  to  aid  in  the  desiccation  and  destruction  of  the 


226  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

waste.  Where  stones  are  not  available,  Firth  suggests 
stacks  of  old  cans  upon  which  rubbish  may  be  piled  and  fired, 
the  openings  between  the  cans  supplying  air.  The  same 
tins  may  be  used  repeatedly,  but  they  do  not  retain  heat  as 
well  as  the  stones.  The  English  sometimes  use  a  device 
that  consists  of:  (1)  Two  trenches  which  intersect  at  a  right 
Small  field  angle,  to  supply  air.  These  should  be  the  width 
crematory  of  a  spade,  six  to  nine  inches  deep,  and  five  or 
more  feet  in  length.  (2)  At  the  intersection  an  extem- 
porized iron  grating,  as  of  rails  or  bars,  upon  low  supports. 
(3)  A  sod  or  clay-and-stick  chimney,  rising  from  the  inter- 
section. A  brisk  fire  at  the  bottom  of  the  chimney  is  fed 
with  fuel  and  refuse  from  the  top.  The  constant  attention 
that  this  requires  is  inconvenient.  A  valuable  improvement 
over  the  large  fire-pit  is  the  kitchen  crematory  brought  into 
notice  by  Arnold,  of  the  Pennsylvania  National  Guard,  under 
Spider  the  name  of  the  spider  crematory.  A  spider  is 

crematory  a  framework  of  iron  bars  four  to  six  inches  apart, 
riveted  into  side  pieces  whose  ends  are  bent  downward 
at  a  right  angle  to  form  legs  and  hold  the  frame  sixteen 


ooooooooooooo     oo 


to  eighteen  inches  above  the  ground.  On  it  may  be  done 
all  the  company  cooking  except  baking  and  roasting.  It 
is  so  simple  and  so  strong  that  it  may  easily  be  transported 
without  damage,  and  although  not  a  part  of  the  formal  issue 
it  may  be  obtained  through  the  company  fund.  To  use  it 
as  a  destructor  a  pit  is  dug  sixty  inches  long,  thirty  inches 
wide,  forty-eight  inches  deep  at  one  end  and  thirty-six  at  the 
other.  This  is  filled  loosely  with  tolerably  large  stones  to  a 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         227 

height  a  few  inches  above  the  ground  level  and  it  is  banked 
up  all  around  sufficiently  to  exclude  surface  water.  The 
spider  is  then  set  on  the  stones  and  a  wall  of  stones,  sod,  or 
cord-wood  is  continued  front  and  rear  to  the  top  of  the  spider, 
both  ends  being  left  open  for  draught.  Fire  is  built  under 
the  spider  on  top  of  the  stones,  and  by  the  time  the  meal  is 
served  there  is  a  very  hot  fire  needed  only  for  heating  water. 
The  hot  embers  continually  heat  the  stones  they  rest  on,  and 
these  in  turn  heat  those  next  below.  The  garbage  to  be  con- 
sumed is  laid  at  each  side  of  the  central  fire,  and  as  it  becomes 
desiccated  it  may  be  pushed  into  the  flame  and  consumed. 
Incombustible  material  is  purified  for  removal  to  a  proper 
place  of  deposit.  Dish-water,  coffee  grounds,  and  other 
liquids  are  poured  in  carefully  at  the  deeper  end  of  the  pit, 
where  a  part  is  evaporated  by  the  heat  of  the  stones  and  a 
part  drains  away.  The  spider  crematory  is  successfully 
used  in  the  encampments  of  the  Pennsylvania  National 
Guard,  and  the  public  is  indebted  to  Major  H.  A.  Arnold,  of 
that  service,  for  its  becoming  more  generally  known.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  make  more  than  a  shallow  pit  for  an  over- 
night camp.  The  great  advantage  of  this  device  is  that  it 
disposes  of  the  garbage  of  each  company  kitchen  practically 
in  situ,  without  delay  and  apparently  effectually.  The 
Conley  garbage  consumer  is  a  travelling  sub-  conley  gar- 
stitute  for  the  fire-pit  which,  as  far  as  tested,  bage  con- 
is  pronounced  admirable  and  its  operation  to  be  sumer 
less  costly  than  that  of  the  pit.  It  warrants  favorable  con- 
sideration until  prolonged  tests  on  a  large  scale  definitely 
determine  its  fitness.  But  all  movable  apparatus  to  accom- 
pany mobile  columns  is  open  to  the  objection  of  probable 
absence  when  required  and  occasional  breakage  when  not 
easily  repaired.  In  winter  quarters,  camps  of  concentration, 
and  at  other  fixed  positions  as  permanent  posts,  Fixed  de- 
regular  garbage  destructors  may  properly  be  built  structors 
with  the  care  their  usefulness  warrants.  In  those  camps 
where  water  is  piped  shower  baths  are  arranged,  and  in  every 


228  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

camp  the  men  should  be  able  to  wash  their  clothing.  The 
better  plan  to  dispose  of  this  waste  seems  to  require  pits 
of  considerable  depth  filled  with  large  stones  and 
covered  loosely  with  boards,  into  which  after  use 
the  bathing  water  flows  and  the  washing  water  may  be  poured. 
Waste  water  should  never  be  allowed  to  flow  over  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  where  it  always  makes  mire  and  occasion- 
ally is  specifically  harmful.  In  all  camps  care  should  be 
observed  about  the  droppings  of  horses  where  flies  are  most 
apt  to  breed,  because  some  infectious  diseases  are  in  part 
transmitted  by  these  insects,  as  will  be  explained 
later.  On  active  service  the  cavalry  and  artillery 
horses  must  be  near  the  men,  but  in  fixed  camps  the  picket- 
lines  or  stables  may  be  more  distant.  In  both  cases  with 
proper  sanitary  police  the  risk  from  flies  may  be  substan- 
tially eliminated,  but  like  all  other  sanitary  measures  this 
requires  constant  vigilance  and  clear  recognition  of  its  neces- 
sity. Greater  difficulty  attends  the  care  of  the  corrals  and 
parks  of  the  wagon  trains,  where  the  hired  teamsters  observe 
Wagon  a  very  shadowy  discipline;  and  usually  there  is 
trains  little  recognition  of  their  sanitary  relation  to  the 

organized  forces  or  of  the  importance  of  sanitation  to  the 
men  themselves.  Nothing  can  be  done  with  these  trains 
and  their  teamsters  without  the  incessant  cooperation  of  the 
Quartermaster's  Department,  which  is  usually  too  short- 
handed  in  appreciative  officers. 

In  the  conservancy  of  a  permanent  post  the  same  principles 
are  involved  as  in  that  of  a  camp,  but  the  methods  more 
nearly  resemble  those  of  a  town.  For  convenience  a  few 
definitions  of  the  commoner  agencies  and  conditions  are 
Sewage  and  presented  here.  Thus :  Sewage  is  the  waste  of 
sewerage  inhabited  places,  and  sewerage  is  the  system 
of  water-carriage  by  which  it  is  removed.  Careless  writers 
Sewer  and  sometimes  confuse  these  terms.  A  sewer  is  a 
drain  conduit  for  the  removal  of  waste,  generally 

meaning  excrementitious  waste,  and  a  drain  is  a    channel 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         229 

for  the  escape  of  surface  or  subsoil  water.  But  house- 
drains  are  those  which  carry  kitchen  slops  or  laundry 
water  out  of  the  house.  In  this  country  "  house-drain  " 

is    rarely    applied   to    sewer    connections,    as    it 

.  .  .,     .        .  f.          House-dram 

sometimes  is  abroad.     The  soil-pipe  is  the  fixed 

upright   pipe   into   which  the  water-closets  empty   through 
waste-pipes  within  the  house,  and  which  out  of  Soil-pipeand 
the  house  connects  directly  with  the  sewer.     The  waste-pipe 
ventilating-pipe  is  the  upward  extension  of  the  open  soil- 
pipe    above    the    highest    water-closet    into    the  ventilating- 
air.     The  vent-pipe  is  a  smaller  pipe,  sometimes  pipe  and 
used  to  admit  air  into  the  trap.     A  ventilating-  v^-P1?6 
pipe  and  a  vent-pipe  have  distinct  functions.     The  separate 
system  of  sewerage  is  that  which  carries  only  sewage,  and 
the  combined  system  carries  sewage  and  storm-  separate  and 
water  together.     Sewer-air,   a  better  term  than  combined 
sewer    gas,    represents    air    contaminated    with  sewers 
emanations  from  the  solid  contents  of  sewers,  either  in  bulk 
or   as    lining   the    pipes.     A   water-closet    is    an 
apparatus  for  the  immediate  removal  by  water 
of  excrementitious  waste  from  the  place  of  deposit,   com- 
monly within  a  dwelling.     A  seal  is  a  barrier,  usually  of 
water,  designed  to  prevent  the  upward  passage  water- 
of  sewer-air,  and  a  trap  is  a  mechanism  to  re-  closet,  seal, 
tain    the    seal    in    position.     An    earth-closet    is  trap 
essentially   a  portable  receptacle  where  the  discharges  are 
promptly  covered  with  dry  earth  and  the  vessel  is  emptied 
at  frequent  intervals. 

A  sewer  that  conveys  storm-water  as  well  as  sewage  should 
be  egg-shaped  in  section,  the  small  end  down.     Otherwise 
a  pipe  designed,  as  it  should  be,  to  carry  the 
maximum  flow  would  not  be  nearly  filled  during 
much  of  the  time,  so  that  when  sewage  alone  is  passing  the 
solid  matter  would  lie  stranded  in  bars  because  of  an  insuf- 
ficiency of  liquid  to  carry  it  forward.     But  separate  sewers 
should  be  circular  in  section,  for  economy  in  material  and 


230  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

efficiency  of  service.  They  should  be  just  large  enough  to 
carry  the  estimated  sewage  and  small  enough  to  be  completely 
flushed  by  it.  Sewers  are  to  be  carefully  laid  on  solid  founda- 
tions so  as  not  to  be  disturbed  by  settling,  and  should  be 
securely  water-tight.  A  leaky  sewer  may  be  a  serious  evil. 
But  pipes  intended  only  for  storm-water  are  sometimes  laid 
open  like  an  ordinary  under-drain,  in  order  to  dry  the  ground 
in  the  intervals  between  rains.  There  is  no  danger  of  serious 
leakage  from  a  properly  laid  drain,  and  on  the  other  hand 
it  will  take  up  water  from  the  surrounding  soil.  For  mili- 
tary posts  the  combined  system  ordinarily  is  inappropriate. 
Where  the  outlet  of  a  sewer  is  below  high  water  and  thus 
liable  to  be  temporarily  closed  by  the  tide,  there  must  be 
special  provision  for  its  ventilation;  otherwise  the  contained 
air  may  be  driven  back  into  the  habitations.  The  smaller 
the  waste-pipes  and  the  house-drains  that  have  sufficient 
capacity,  the  more  efficient  they  are;  because  the  friction  is 
less,  and  the  greater  the  pressure  the  greater  the  velocity 

with    the    less    chance    of    obstructive    blocking. 

Waste-pipes  for  single  fixtures  need  not  exceed 
H  inches  and  should  not  exceed  2  inches  in  diameter,  A 
diameter  of  3  to  3£  inches  is  ample  for  a  soil-pipe,  when  it  is 
remembered  how  rapidly  the  area  of  a  circle  increases  with  an 
increase  of  the  radius.  The  outlets  of  all  waste-pipes  should 
be  of  full  bore,  and  they  should  join  the  main  soil-pipe  at  an 
acute  angle. 

A  water-closet  is  a  bowl,  with  a  waste-pipe  which  leads 
directly  to  a  soil-pipe  and  a  supply-pipe  connected  with  an 

individual  water-tank.  It  is  supplied  with  water 
Water-closet  _  .  ,  .,, 

to  receive  and  to  carry  off  its  contents,  and  with 

a  trap  and  seal  in  close  proximity  to  bar  the  sewer-air.  If 
the  water-closet  bowl  is  clean  above  the  seal  and  the  seal  is 
of  sufficient  depth  and  is  kept  intact,  the  house  is  considered 
safe.  But  ventilation  and  disconnection,  to  be  mentioned 
later,  are  important  auxiliaries  to  divert  the  products  of 
decomposition.  Mechanical  water-closets  are  the  "pan,"  the 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         231 

"valve,"  and  the  "plunger";  they  all  are  bad,  and  are  noted 
only  to  be  condemned.     These  are  relics  of  early  styles,  mul- 
titudes of  which  are  in  older  houses  which  may  be  temporarily 
used  as  quarters,  but  none  should  be  introduced  anew.     Of 
these  the  "pan"  closet  is  the  worst.     It  receives 
its  name  from  a  shallow  metal  dish  or  pan  at  the 
bottom  of  the  bowl,  which  receives  the  deposit  and  is  supposed 
to  discharge  it  on  being  turned  half  over  by  drawing  up  an 
attached  rod.     This  closet  never  contains  or  receives  sufficient 
water,  the  pan  itself  and  the  container  are  continually  smeared 
with  excrement,  and  there  is  a  recess  into  which  the  pan  is 
drawn  back,  necessarily  foul,  from  which  foul  odors  enter  the 
apartment  whenever  the  closet  is  used.     This  has  been  aptly 
designated  a  chamber  of  horrors,  and  it  should  be  tolerated 
in  no   dwelling.     The   "valve"   closet  is  a   little 
better,  but  is  of  the  same  objectionable  type.     A 
valve  or  plug  in  the  bottom  of  the  bowl  is  withdrawn  like 
the  pan,  and  is  presumed  to  be  washed  by  the  flow  of  water. 
The  receiver  of  this  closet  is  of  better  shape  and  smaller,  it 
holds  a  greater  volume  of  water,  and  the  valve  itself  is  less 
apt  to  become  so  foul;  but  the  retained  water  is  liable  to  escape 
by  leakage  around  the  valve,  and  the  style  is  bad  and  should 
not  be  used.     The  "plunger"  closet  is  less  objec-    piunger 
tionable.     In  this  a  piston  at  one  side  of  the  bot-    closet 
torn  of  the  bowl  retains  the  water  until  it  is  raised  to  allow 
the  contents  to  escape.    But  this  mechanical  appliance  is  liable 
to  be  smeared  and  to  defile  the  atmosphere,  and  sometimes 
it  is  clogged  in  such  a  manner  that  the  retained  water  oozes 
away.     The    "hopper"    closets,   long   and   short,    Hopper 
have  no  movable  machinery  and  are  plain  bottom-    closets 
less  bowls  set  upon  a  trap  that  opens  directly  into  or  is  a  part 
of  the  soil-pipe,  the  water  that  clears  out  the  hopper  entering 
by  a  rim-flush  from  an  overhead  tank.     The  chief  objection 
to  the  hoppers  is  that  the  walls  may  be  so  soiled  that  the 
ordinary  flush  will  not  cleanse  them.     This  may  be  partly 
obviated  by  flushing  the  closet  before  as  well  as  after  use. 


232  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

The  short  hopper  is  the  better  of  the  two  for  use  within  the 
house,  because  the  level  of  the  seal  is  nearer  the  seat  and 
the  trap  is  in  view.  For  out-houses  the  long  hopper  is  pref- 
erable, because  the  exposure  of  the  trap  to  frost  is  less.  But 
neither  can  be  set  in  severe  climates  where  there  is  no  arti- 
ficial heat.  Acceptable  modern  closets,  such  as  alone  should 
Wash-down  be  introduced  in  officers'  quarters,  are  known  as 
and  wash-  "wash-down"  and  " wash-out,"  where  the  bowl 
out  closets  holds  a  moderate  depth  of  water  and  a  deep  seal 
lies  below.  A  rim-flush  sweeps  out  the  contents  with  suf- 
ficient force  to  send  everything  through  the  trap.  There  are 
Siphon  several  forms  of  siphon  closets,  which  are  an  im- 

closets  proved  variety  of  these.     In  one  a  jet  is  thrown 

from  the  front  wall.  In  a  second  the  trap  is  baked  into  the 
bowl  as  a  part  of  it,  and  both  receiver  and  seal  contain  several 
inches  of  water.  When  the  outflow  is  started  by.  the  flush  it 
is  impeded  by  a  constriction,  so  that  the  long  arm  of  the 
siphon  quickly  forms  and  all  the  contents  of  the  basin  are 
exhausted.  A  third  is  operated  by  a  column  of  water  from 
the  flushing-tank  held  in  position  by  atmospheric  pressure 
with  the  end  in  the  water  of  the  receiver.  When  the  cistern 
discharges  the  descending  water  escapes  through  the  flushing- 
rim  and  by  way  of  the  siphon.  The  back  of  the  receiver  is 
less  liable  to  become  soiled  when  it  is  nearly  vertical  or  retires 
to  the  rear,  than  when  it  is  conical  and  sloping  forward  as 
in  some  patterns.  Every  closet  should  have  its  individual 
Flushing-  flushing-tank,  to  avoid  contamination  of  the  drink- 
tank  ing  supply.  The  delivery  pipe  should  be  at  least 
\\  inches  in  diameter  and  the  fall  be  not  less  than  4  feet  to 
secure  an  adequate  head.  A  competent  flush  requires  three 
gallons  of  water,  which  should  be  by  the  rim  to  scour  the  bowl. 
It  is  no  economy  to  use  too  little.  A  variety  of  the  siphon 
closet  known  as  "silent,"  where  the  tank  is  almost 
at  the  level  of  the  seat  and  a  larger  outlet  com- 
pensates for  the  decreased  head,  is  acceptable  in  as  far  as 
less  noise  accompanies  its  operation.  But  there  is  a  risk  of 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         233 

insufficient  force  from  inadequate  head.  Direct  connection 
with  the  house  water-supply,  to  which  there  is  a  tendency 
in  order  to  secure  pressure,  should  be  guarded  against  for  fear 
of  contamination  if  the  apparatus  should  get  out  of  order. 

Water-closet  fixtures  are  to  be  freely  exposed  to  view  for 
inspection  and  never  to  be  boxed  in.     The  pipes  should  be 
neatly  painted  and  not  be  concealed;  at  the  most    Fixtures 
the  covers  may  be  screwed,  not  nailed,  on.    Urinals    exposed 
should  be  allowed  in  dwellings  under  no  circumstances.     It 
is  impossible  to  keep  them  free  from  ammoniacal  odor  which 
will  diffuse  itself,  and  when  insufficiently  flushed       . 
toxic  bacteria  may  abound.     For  public  buildings 
with  closets  in  frequent  use  copious  automatic  flushes  arranged 
to  discharge  at  regular  intervals  are  safer  than  those  depend- 
ing upon  individual  care  at  the  time.     For  troops    Public 
in  garrison  latrines  should  be  in  detached  buildings    closets 
heated  above  frost,  usually  arranged  as  troughs  with  multiple 
seats,  having  an  automatic  flush  to  be  set  for  such  intervals 
as  desired.     These  troughs  should  be  wide  enough  for  the  rear 
wall  not  to  be  soiled  by  diarrhoeal  discharges.     A  primitive 
trough  whose  contents  escape  after  the  removal    Common 
of  a  plug  at  the  lower  end  is  sometimes  used,  but    trough 
is  unsatisfactory.     It  retains  several  inches  of  water  when  the 
plug  is  in  place. 

A  common  error  in  making  water-closet  seats  is  for  the 
opening  to  be  too  wide.  For  physiological  reasons  the  but- 
tocks should  not  be  caught  between  the  bor- 

Seats 
ders,  but  rather  should  rest  upon  the  sides  of 

the  seats.     Recruits,  many  of  whom  are  entirely  unfamiliar 
with  such  conveniences,  should  be  instructed  in  the  use  of 
toilet  paper  supplied  in  rolls,  not  sheets,  and  they    care  of 
should   be   warned   against   the    mischief,    which    latrines 
should  be  explained,  that  may  follow  introducing  insoluble 
objects.     When  it  is  understood  that,  if  the  culprit  is  not 
discovered,   damage   from   careless   use   of   latrines   will  be 
charged  pro  rata  against  the  organization,  there  will  be  greater 


234  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

interest  in  their  care.  A  well-kept  latrine  is  so  great  a  con- 
venience that  harm  usually  comes  to  it  through  ignorance 
rather  than  by  design;  so  that  it  is  good  administration  for 
its  operation  to  be  frequently  and  carefully  explained.  The 
latrines  should  be  rigidly  inspected  every  day.  It  occasion- 
ally happens  that,  through  insufficient  appropriations  or 
otherwise,  post  authorities  use  wooden  conduits  through 
which  to  discharge  water-borne  excreta.  In  a  short  time 
Wooden  con-  these  become  clogged  and  saturated  with  their 
duits  contents  and  are  thus  transformed  into  elongated 

cesspools.  If  used  at  all,  they  must  be  set  so  that  one  angle 
well  calked  with  white  lead  forms  the  lowest  line  and  that 
the  grade  is  heavy  and  uniform.  At  the  best  this  is  but  a 
poor  and  temporary  expedient. 

Having  secured  a  closet  that  will  discharge  its  contents 
without  polluting  itself,  the  next  requirement  is  to  prevent 
Control  of  the  sewer-air  always  present  in  the  pipes  from 
sewer-air  escaping  through  the  water-closet  into  the  dwell- 
ing. Emanations  from  fresh  and  healthful  faecal  matter, 
however  unpleasant,  do  not  appear  to  be  intrinsically  mis- 
chievous; and  it  is  not  probable  that  the  bacterial  causes  of 
specific  diseases  are  disseminated  within  dwellings  in  this 
way.  Bacteria  have  no  independent  power  of  locomotion 
through  the  air  or  otherwise,  but  must  be  transported  upon 
or  with  minute  portions  of  dust  or  fragments  of  organic 
matter.  It  does  appear,  however,  that  air  seriously  charged 
with  the  putrefying  products  of  organic  waste  when  habit- 
ually breathed  diminishes  the  power  to  resist  illness,  and  that 
inmates  of  houses  thus  polluted  succumb  more  easily  than 
others  to  attacks  of  disease,  if  indeed  they  do  not  become 
actually  predisposed  to  such  infection.  This  refers  simply  to 
sewer-air,  not  to  the  infectious  particles  of  communicable 

disease-causes  diffused  through  a  house  by  the  ill. 

Now  the  invasion  of  sewer-air  cannot  take  place 
if  the  seal,  that  is  the  water  held  in  the  trap  between  the 
bowl  and  the  upper  part  of  the  waste-pipe,  is  complete  and 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         235 

the  trap  itself,  or  the  bend  in  the  fixtures  which  contains 
the  seal,  does  not  become  foul.  The  possible  disadvantages 
of  this  curve  which  constitutes  the  trap  are  the 
check  it  may  impose  to  the  escape  of  refuse 
through  it,  that  it  may  become  permanently  foul  by  long  use 
and  inattention,  and  that  it  may  not  always  retain  the  seal. 
A  competent  trap  should  have  the  outlet  of  the  bowl  just  above 
it  a  little  larger  than  its  inlet  arm,  so  that  there  should  be  an 
excess  of  water  when  the  seal  is  renewed;  the  trap  itsell 
should  have  no  recess  to  be  fouled;  and  when  properly  set  it 
should  be  self-scouring,  with  a  perfectly  smooth  inner  surface, 
which  implies  a  construction  of  earthenware  or  enamelled 
iron.  The  primitive  trap,  formerly  in  universal  use  and  not 
yet  entirely  discarded  as  it  should  be,  is  the  "D."  That  can- 
not avoid  accumulating  filth  where  the  straight  lines  of  the 
D  cut  the  seal.  It  is  mentioned  only  for  condemnation. 
The  commoner  and  permissible  traps  in  the  order  of  merit 
are  the  "For  i  S,"  "  J  S,"  and  "S."  A  running  trap  is  a  shal- 
low U-like  bend  in  a  nearly  horizontal  pipe.  It  is  not  used 
in  connection  with  a  water-closet,  but  generally  in  the  branch 
sewer-pipe  between  the  house  and  the  sewer  Running 
proper.  It  should  not  be  sufficiently  angular  to  trap 
retain  refuse,  but  should  be  deep  enough  to  prevent  the  pas- 
sage of  air.  Every  time  any  trap  is  flushed  all  the  contained 
water  should  be  changed  and  a  good  supply  of  clean  water 
be  left  within  the  trap.  This  point  of  use  is  frequently  over- 
looked in  the  kitchen  and  laundry  sinks,  the  bath- 
tubs  and  the  wash-basins,  where  the  water  that 
has  been  used  merely  escapes  without  a  fresh  supply  succeed- 
ing it,  so  that  which  remains  in  the  trap  is  the  last  that  ran 
out  of  the  vessel.  Much  of  the  disagreeable  odor  sometimes 
recognized  about  lavatory  fixtures  depends  on  decomposing 
soap  and  waste  from  the  surface  of  the  body  Direction  of 
accumulating  thus  in  the  overflow  arm  of  the  basin  waste-pipes 
or  sink  because  fresh  water  does  not  sweep  it  out.  All 
the  water-closet  waste-pipes  that  join  the  soil-pipe  should 


236  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

do  so  at  an  acute  angle,  by  Y's  and  not  by  Ts,  and  over 
the  shortest  route  possible;  and  to  that  end  those  conven- 
iences should  be  placed  very  near  the  soil-pipe  itself.  Any 
waste-pipe  that  requires  to  be  carried  laterally  should  be 
along  a  decided  grade  with  the  fewest  possible  changes  of 
course. 

A  seal  may  be  forced  by  the  sheer  momentum  of  the  water 

dashing  through  it,  it  may  evaporate,  or  it  may  be  broken 

by  back-pressure  or  by  siphonage.     It  is  possible 

for  a  considerable  volume  of  water  to  be  poured 

through  a  trap  suddenly,  as  from  a  bucket,  so  that  little 

or  none  remains  behind.     Serious  evaporation  is  unlikely  to 

occur  where  a  closet  is  in  use.     But  where  a  fix- 
Evaporation 

ture  is  not  being  used,  as  when  the  house  or  a 

part  of  it  is  closed,  the  trap  should  be  filled  with  a  heavy 
oil  or  with  glycerine.  Leakage  by  the  capillary  action  of 
Capillary  threads,  hair,  lint,  caught  in  the  trap  sometimes 
action  carries  off  a  seal  not  in  constant  use.  Back- 

pressure is  the  consequence  of  a  heavy  column  of  water 
forcing  the  air  in  the  soil-pipe  before  it  until  near  the  bot- 
tom an  abrupt  bend,  a  narrowing,  or  some  other  obstacle  to 
Back-pres-  escape  in  front,  tends  to  compress  the  air,  when  it 
sure  will  move  in  the  direction  of  the  least  resistance  up 

the  nearest  branch  pipe  and  through  the  seal.  To  produce 
back-pressure  the  descending  column  must  have  acquired 
considerable  velocity  and  there  must  be  some  impediment 
to  the  free  movement  of  the  air  in  front  of  it.  The  fix- 
ture whose  trap  is  thus  forced  and  seal  is  broken  must 
therefore  be  near  the  bottom  of  a  tall  stack.  Siphonage  is 
the  effect  of  a  heavy  column  of  water  falling 
suddenly  down  a  soil-pipe  and  thus  producing 
a  partial  vacuum  which,  by  releasing  the  atmospheric  pressure 
below  the  seal,  destroys  its  equilibrium  and  the  pressure  of 
the  air  within  the  closet,  or  above  the  seal,  drives  the  water 
out.  This  is  most  apt  to  occur  to  the  highest  seal  in  a  tall 
stack.  Back-pressure  and  siphonage  are  complemental  and 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         237 

both  cannot  occur  to  the  same  fixture.  Neither  will  they 
occur  in  the  low  buildings  of  an  ordinary  military  post,  and 
they  are  mentioned  here  merely  to  round  out  the  topic.  A 
vent  is  a  pipe  running  from  the  upper  bend  of  the  trap  into 
either  the  soil-pipe  or  into  a  common  vent-pipe, 
whose  object  is  to  admit  air  and  thus  prevent 
siphonage  and  counteract  back-pressure.  The  vent  should 
be  of  the  same  diameter  as  the  trap,  at  least  up  to  two  inches. 
Vents  are  required  chiefly  in  large  houses  or  in  those  with 
complicated  plumbing,  and  rarely  at  the  ordinary  military 
post.  The  objection  to  a  vent  is  its  liability  to  become 
clogged  by  undissolved  material  splashing  against  its  con- 
nection with  the  trap,  and  its  liability  to  evaporate  the  seal. 
To  vent  a  waste-pipe  and  to  ventilate  a  soil-pipe  are  distinct 
and  disconnected  operations.  A  widely  used  and  satisfactory 
vent  attached  to  traps  connected  with  sinks,  lavatories,  etc., 
is  the  M'Clellan,  which  preserves  the  equilibrium  Mercurial 
by  introducing  fresh  air  from  the  interior  of  the  trap  vent 
building  and  uses  mercury  to  prevent  the  backward  flow. 
It  is  competent  against  siphonage  but  not  always  against 
back-pressure  or  momentum  (forcing)  in  a  water-closet  trap. 
The  soil-pipe,  which  receives  and  conducts  to  the  sewer  all 
the  sewage  of  the  dwelling,  should  be  of  iron  until  after  it 

leaves  the  house  on  its  way  to  the  sewer.     Leaden 

.  ,  11-11  •  i     Sou-pipe 

pipes  formerly  used  are  liable  to  corrosion  and 

to  be  gnawed  by  rats.     Its  passage  through  the  foundation 
wall  should  be  protected  by  an  arch.     This  section  is  some- 
times called  the  branch  sewer-pipe  and  sometimes,  but  in- 
appropriately,   the   house-drain.     The   calibre   of 
the  soil-pipe  should  not  exceed  4  inches  for  large 
public  buildings,  while  from  3  to  3J  inches  is  ample  for  private 
houses. 

Free  ventilation  of  the  soil-pipe  is  the  second  agency  for 
securing  the  freedom  of  the   atmosphere  of  the  Ventilating- 
house  from  pollution  by  the  sewer-air.      The  ex-  pipe 
tension  of  the  soil-pipe  above  the  topmost  closet  becomes  the 


238  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

ventilating-pipe,  with  no  obstacle  from  end  to  end  excepting 
a  possible  running  trap  between  the  house  and  the  sewer. 
This  affords  free  passage  for  the  contained  sewer-air  into  the 
outer  atmosphere,  relieving  the  seals  from  undue  pressure. 
In  order  to  prevent  the  leakage  of  gases,  the  ventilating-pipe 
must  be  of  the  same  material  and  construction  as  the  soil- 
pipe,  of  which  it  is  the  continuation,  and  it  must  extend  full 
calibre  above  the  roof.  In  cold  climates  the  extremity 
should  be  somewhat  larger  on  account  of  the  accumulation 
of  frost,  and  the  end  should  not  be  curved  downward  nor 
covered  with  a  cowl.  The  ventilating-pipe  should  terminate 
below  the  level  of  a  chimney-top  to  avoid  a  down  draught, 
and  it  should  be  a  little  above  the  ridge  to  secure  the  advan- 
tage of  aspiration.  It  should  not  be  near  a  window  into 
which  odors  from  it  may  drift.  Neither  the  ventilating- 
pipe  nor  the  vent-pipe  (if  there  is  one)  should  terminate 
within  a  chimney,  as  sometimes  advised  to  take  advantage 
of  the  heated  upward  draught,  because  the  fires  are  not 
perpetual  and  down  draughts  often  occur.  Interior  pipes 
are  also  liable  to  become  choked  with  soot.  To  insure  a 
change  of  air,  or  true  ventilation,  there  must  be  an  inlet 
as  well  as  an  outlet  and  this  is  found  in  the  disconnecting 
vent. 

The  third  agency  in  regulating  sewer-air  in  the  soil-pipe  is 
"disconnection."  This  is  conventional  rather  than  actual, 
Disconnec-  and  it  is  difficult  to  carry  out  in  snowy  climates. 
tion  It  requires  a  vent  of  full  size  in  the  pipe  line  between 

the  house  and  the  sewer,  on  the  house  side  of  the  running 
trap,  if  there  is  one.  This  will  allow  the  escape  of  foul  air 
or  the  entrance  of  fresh  air,  as  the  pressure  may  determine; 
but  as  a  rule  the  sewer-air  will  not  escape  by  the  vent,  which 
should  terminate  in  a  bend  with  the  mouth  toward  the  ground, 
but  will  ascend  through  the  warm  soil-pipe.  Nevertheless 
windows  or  air-ducts  into  the  house  should  not  be  near  the 
vent.  The  running-trap  may  be  omitted  when  the  sewer  into 
which  the  soil-pipe  discharges  is  fairly  well  kept,  or  if  the  grade 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         239 

is  not  good,  or  if  it  is  liable  to  be  frozen.  It  is  more  important 
when  the  sewer  system  is  not  good. 

The  soil-pipe  should  have  as  few  changes  of  direction  as 
possible,  and  those  over  large  curves,  nor  should  it  approach 
the  horizontal  if  it  can  be  avoided.  When  first  Direction  of 
set  up  in  ordinary  quarters  this  pipe  should  be  soil-pipe 
tested  by  water-pressure.  The  lower  end  and  the  Y's  for  the 
fixtures  being  securely  closed,  the  pipe  is  to  be  filled  with 
water  which  should  maintain  its  level  for  at  least  Testing  soil? 
half  an  hour.  If  an  aerial  leak  is  suspected,  all  pip0 
the  traps  are  to  be  filled  and  several  ounces  of  the  oil  of  pepper- 
mint followed  by  two  or  three  gallons  of  hot  water  to  be 
poured  into  the  top  of  the  soil-pipe.  The  peppermint  must 
not  be  carried  through  the  quarters  except  when  hermetically 
sealed,  and  the  person  who  has  handled  it  cannot  enter  the 
house  until  the  condition  of  the  pipe  is  determined. 

Rain-leaders  sometimes  conduct  storm-water  from  the  roof 
into  the  sewer.     As  they  will  lead  air  up  as  well  as  carry  water 

down  they  should  not  be  placed  near  windows.  _ 

J  ,  Ram-leaders 

Under  no  circumstances  should  they  discharge  on 

the  sewer  side  of  the  trap  or  the  vent,  and  there  always  should 
be  a  vent.  As  a  severe  storm  may  overtax  the  capacity  of 
the  sewer,  it  is  a  better  rule  not  to  run  storm-water  into  it. 

Notwithstanding  an  army  in  the  field  is  concerned  with 
none  of  the  problems  of  sewerage  as  a  sanitary  art,  these  do 
confront  the  garrisons  of  our  larger  modern  posts,  whose  officers' 
should  have  a  general  knowledge  of  them.     It  is  no  longer 
sufficient  to  assume  that  when  a  contract  has  been  made  to 
introduce  fixtures  all  has  been  done  that  is  officially  neces- 
sary, or  that  when  the  plumbing  is  complained  of  nothing  can 
be  amiss  if  no  broken  pipe  or  leaking  joint  is    General 
found.     It  is  a  fundamental  principle  that  when    water 
water  is  introduced  at  a  post  by  a  pipe  system,    requires 
pains  must  be  taken  at  the  same  time  for  it  to  be 
systematically  disposed  of  after  use.     Otherwise  the  ground 
already  charged  with  organic  waste  will   be  saturated  and 


240  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

under  the  action  of  heat  disease  may  arise.     This  oversight 
occasionally  occurs. 

Although  the  water-carriage  of  excreta  is  the  exception  in 
the  army,  particularly  at  stations  remote  from  the  great  cities, 
Disposition  nevertheless  excreta  and  garbage  generally  must 
of  excreta  be  promptly  disposed  of.  A  garrison  cannot  evac- 
uate a  polluted  post,  as  a  command  may  march  away  from 
a  defiled  camp.  So,  after  a  well-ordered  sewer  system,  come 
in  the  order  of  desirability :  (1)  Closets  over  deep  water,  as  may 
be  arranged  on  the  sea-coast  or  great  lakes,  but  not  where 
drinking-water  may  be  affected;  (2)  Cesspools;  (3)  Privies; 
(4)  The  dry-earth  system;  (5)  Perhaps  in  the  future,  the 
furnace  for  the  disposal  of  all  waste.  Cesspools  are  cisterns, 
generally  walled  dry  with  an  earthen  floor.  Into 
these  is  conducted  the  waste  from  houses  where 
there  may  be  a  water-supply  from  individual  tanks  and  more 
rarely  from  a  general  system.  From  them  the  liquids  per- 
colate and  the  solids  are  removed  mechanically  as  required. 
For  cesspools  to  be  efficient  the  soil  must  be  porous,  the  ground- 
water  low  and  above  all  the  water-supply  beyond  possibility 
of  contamination.  A  large  and  deep  dry -walled  privy  from 
.  which  the  liquids  drain,  which  is  covered  when 

full,  is  a  variety  common  at  some  posts.  In  the 
deep  sand  of  the  south  these  maintain  a  long  life,  but  when 
set  in  sand  or  gravel  they  may  pollute  the  local  water.  When 
abandoned  they  should  be,  but  rarely  are,  permanently  marked 
to  warn  future  garrisons.  The  worst  privies  are  the  common 
shallow  pits  dug  for  temporary  relief,  frequently  without 
authority,  near  stables,  corrals,  and  the  married  quarters. 
These  are  often  filled  to  repletion,  insufficiently  covered  and 
unmarked,  and  they  honeycomb  the  older  posts.  They  should 
be  dug  only  by  an  authority  which  specifically  designates  the 
place  and  depth,  be  systematically  closed  when  no  longer  to 
be  used,  and  be  accurately  marked  in  place  and  on  the  post 
map.  Such  care  is  especially  important  when  the  drinking- 
water  is  drawn  from  wells  or  from  a  superficial  supply.  If 


CONSERVANCY  IN  CAMP  AND  GARRISON         241 

a  pit  is  impracticable,  as  on  a  rocky  site,  or  injudicious,  for 
fear  of  subsoil  pollution,   the  only  alternative  where  there 
is  no  sewerage  is  some  form  of  superficial  receptacle.     This 
should  be  either:  (1)  A  water-proof  compartment  of  moderate 
capacity   (not  exceeding   10  cubic  feet,  for  con-    closet 
venience  of  handling),  raised  a  few  inches  above    privies 
the  level  of  the  ground,  with  a  hinged  seat  for  the  introduction 
of  ashes  or  dry  earth  as  an  absorbent,  and  arranged  to  be 
frequently  withdrawn  and  cleansed ;  or  (2)  the  true  dry  earth- 
closet.     This  requires  a  small  water-proof  recep-  _ 

;.'...,,  .A.  i   Earth-closet 

tacle  into  which  whenever  it  is  used  about  a  pound 

and  a  half  of  pulverized  dry  earth  is  to  be  thrown  over  the 
discharge.  Sun-dried  earth  from  the  upper  soil  is  full  of  useful 
bacteria  through  whose  action  the  excreta  are  oxidized  and 
neutralized.  In  super-heated  or  stove-dried  earth  these  are 
killed.  Sand  and  ashes  are  sterile,  and  chemical  deodorants 
destroy  the  nitrifying  principle  in  the  earth,  therefore  these 
should  only  be  used  when  the  excreta  are  not  infected.  No 
slops  should  be  poured  into  either  form  of  surface  privy.  As 
such  privies  on  a  large  scale  are  effective  only  under  a  good 
system  of  scavengering,  which  under  ordinary  military  condi- 
tions is  most  difficult  to  apply,  their  use  is  to  be  attempted  only 
as  a  last  resort.  Privies  should  be  screened  against  flies,  and 
insecticides  be  occasionally  used  in  them.  Where,  as  some- 
times happens,  excreta  are  to  be  buried  in  emergency  trenches 
it  would  be  an  error  to  inter  them  too  deeply.  Emergency 
The  efficient  bacteria  lie  within  the  two  upper  feet  trenches 
of  the  soil,  and  excrement  should  therefore  be  buried  only 
deep  enough  not  to  be  disturbed  by  animals  or  exposed  by 
the  rain.  There  may  be  an  exception  in  very  arid  and  windy 
climates  where  the  surface  may  be  blown  off.  The  disinfection 
of  the  discharges  from  the  sick  and  the  disposition  Hospital 
of  hospital  refuse  are  special  sanitary  measures  refuse 
for  which  the  Medical  Department  is  responsible.  Laundry 
slops  contain  in  solution  and  suspension  excreta  from  the  in- 
terior organs  and  the  skin,  sometimes  charged  with  disease. 


242  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

Kitchen  slops  are  filled  with  decomposing  animal  and  vegetable 
debris.  The  ground  where  these  slops  are  habitually  thrown 
Laundry  and  often  becomes  indescribably  foul  from  the  soakage 
kitchen  slops  of  such  unsuspected  dregs.  All  waste  going  out 
of  a  house  not  into  the  sewers  should  be  received  in  water- 
tight covered  barrels  resting  on  platforms  arranged  so  that 
the  ground  beneath  may  be  cleansed  and  they  may  be  moved 
to  new  sites  as  required.  Pending  the  introduction  of  an 
Garrison  economical  odorless  furnace,  and  in  the  absence  of 
refuse  available  deep  water,  the  refuse  of  posts  should 

be  carefully  separated  into  the  combustible  or  organic  waste, 
like  slops,  old  clothes,  and  decaying  vegetables,  which  should 
be  consumed  in  a  fire-pit,  and  the  indestructible  as  tin  cans, 
pottery,  metal  and  the  like,  which  are  to  be  buried  when 
climatic  conditions  permit.  As  soon  as  provisions  are  emptied 
cans  should  be  flattened  or  cut  open  so  that  they  may  not 
hold  water;  and  they  may  properly  be  passed  through  the 
fire  to  destroy  small  fragments  of  food.  The  "dump"  of  a 
frontier  station  is  a  monument  of  sanitary  incapacity. 


XXVI 

MARCHES 

The  attitude  of  the  soldier  under  arms,  the  mode  and  rate 
of  marching,  his  endurance,  the  character  and  weight  of  his 
load,  all  affect  his  military  efficiency.  It  is  proper  at  the 
outset  to  warn  against  a  disposition,  formerly  more  insisted 
upon  than  at  present,  and  more  in  other  armies  than  in  our 
own,  but  which  might  be  reintroduced  with  us,  that  when  at 

attention  the  soldier  should  stand  bolt  upright 

Attention, 
with   the   head   well   back   and   the    chest   fully 

dilated.  He  is  taught  to  keep  the  chest  expanded  while  in 
this  posture.  The  constrained  position,  especially  when  com- 
plicated with  the  restraint  of  tight  clothing  (now  happily 
abandoned)  arid  with  the  pressure  of  straps  and  consider- 
able weight  across  the  front  of  his  chest,  limits  the  natural 
respiration.  This  interferes,  further,  with  the  normal  beat 
of  the  heart,  which  becomes  too  strong,  too  abrupt,  and  too 
frequent  in  the  effort  to  overcome  the  handicap;  and  as  the 
lungs  are  not  properly  exercised,  the  blood  is  insufficiently 
aerated.  Marching  in  this  attitude,  or  in  any  approach  to  it, 
causes  severe  strain  of  the  heart,  and  carrying  weights  across 
the  chest  still  further  taxes  the  strength.  The  company 
officers  should  correct  the  zeal  of  the  drill  sergeant  in  develop- 
ing the  statuesque  soldier  at  the  expense  of  his  efficiency. 
The  true  soldierly  position  only  requires  the  shoulders  to  be 
well  squared,  the  abdomen  somewhat  retracted,  and  that, 
while  the  body  may  be  moderately  inclined  to  the  front,  the 
man  shall  not  fall  into  a  careless  position  or  a  slovenly  gait. 
In  marching  the  centre  of  gravity  must  remain  well  within 
the  base  formed  by  the  feet,  and  strength  should  not  be 
wasted  by  raising  the  knee  too  high  or  by  thrusting  the  foot 

243 


244  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

forward  beyond  where  it  will  touch  the  ground,  as  in  cer- 
tain foreign  display  movements,  although  both  are  desir- 
Mode  of  able  drill  exercises  to  develop  the  muscles  of 
marching  the  thigh  and  leg.  It  is  desirable,  although  not 
easily  learned  when  the  body  is  kept  erect,  to  bring  the  ball 
of  the  foot  on  the  ground  first,  followed  by  the  heel,  so  that 
the  shock  of  the  impact  may  be  taken  up  by  the  arch  of  the 
instep,  as  in  running.  It  is  an  error  to  evert  the  foot  far  in 
walking,  because  in  progression  the  thrust  against  the  ground 
is  more  effective  when  made  by  the  length  than  chiefly  by 
the  breadth  or  inner  side  of  the  foot,  as  would  follow  if 
turned  out  too  far.  But  while  standing,  a  wider  and  there- 
fore a  firmer  base  is  secured  when  the  feet  are  at  the  pre- 
scribed angle  of  sixty  degrees  and  the  body  is  upright.  In 
carrying  weight  upon  the  back  the  loaded  body  must  bend  to 
the  front  to  maintain  its  equilibrium,  and  also  when  in  motion 
that  it  may  keep  the  centre  of  gravity  within  the  shifting  base. 
In  studying  the  theory  of  the  march  and  its  practical  appli- 
cation, attention  should  be  paid  to  the  flexion  step  of  the 

French,  where  all  the  joints  bend  and  the  bodv 
Flexion  step 

inclines   to   the   front.         This   is   said   to   yield 

admirable,  although  not  showy,  results.  To  bend  forward 
from  the  waist  is  not  to  stoop  and  does  not  contract  the  chest, 
although  such  contraction  does  follow  the  common  rounded 
shoulders  and  bent  spine  of  the  untrained.  Marching  with 
the  inclined  body  and  flexed  joints,  with  the  feet  raised  no 
higher  than  to  avoid  the  obstacles  of  the  way,  encourages 
speed  with  the  least  muscular  effort,  for  gravitation  assists  the 
forward  movement.  The  man  must  move  forward  to  avoid 
falling.  It  is  alleged  that  after  six  months'  training  fully 
equipped  French  soldiers  have  covered  twelve  miles  in  an  hour 
and  forty  minutes,  that  is  have  marched  at  the  rate  of  seven 
miles  an  hour.*  Of  course  there  is  a  distance  limit,  but  this 
speed-capacity  gives  an  army  possessing  it  an  enormous 
advantage.  Certain  Italian  corps  also  are  trained  to  march 

*  Firth,  Military  Hygiene,  p.  255. 


MARCHES  245 

rapidly,  much  in  the  same  way.  As  this  is  but  a  question 
of  training,  not  of  natural  endowment,  it  is  open  to  other 
armies  to  attain  similar  results  by  the  same  methods. 

The  direct  step  of  our  infantry  is  30  inches,  and  this  at  90 
steps  a  minute  for  common  and  120  for  marching  or  quick 
time  gives  75  and  100  yards  a  minute,  or  without 
halts  2^  and  3f  miles  an  hour.  In  practice  this  is 
reduced  to  a  little  more  than  2  and  about  3  miles  respec- 
tively. Double  time  requires  180  steps  of  36  inches,  or  one 
yard,  each  a  minute;  which  is  equivalent  to  a  little  less  than 
6  miles  an  hour.  This  is  really  a  run,  not  a  marching  step, 
and  is  too  exhausting  for  more  than  rushes  and  street  fight- 
ing. It  is  simply  a  gymnastic  exercise  which  should  com- 
mence with  very  short  periods,  and  after  prolonged  practice 
should  never  exceed  a  maximum  of  20  minutes  for  picked 
troops,  excepting  as  they  may  be  brought  up  to  it  by  train- 
ing in  the  flexion  step.  In  such  exercises,  especially  in  the 
practice  marches,  men  should  be  encouraged  to  fall  out  at 
will;  for  until  well  trained  a  heart  is  easily  strained  per- 
manently by  such  work.  The  British  quick  step  is  30  inches, 
120  to  the  minute  or  100  yards,  and  the  double  is  33  inches 
at  175  to  the  minute,  the  equivalent  of  160  yards.  In  "  step- 
ping out"  the  ordinary  pace  is  extended  to  33  British  and 
inches.  The  quick  step  of  the  German  infantry  German 
is  31  i  inches  (.8  metre)  at  114  paces  to  the  steps 
minute  or  100  yards,  and  sometimes  a  slightly  quicker 
rate  of  120  paces  of  the  same  length,  or  105  yards,  is  used. 
The  Germans  also  use  a  " double"  step,  39  inches  (1  metre) 
at  165  to  170  to  the  minute,  about  180  yards.  That  length 
of  step  is  too  extreme  for  other  than  a  brief  charge.  The 
Japanese  step  in  quick  time  is  about  29£  inches  (.75  metre)  at 
114  to  the  minute;  in  double  time  it  is  32^  inches  Japanese 
(.85  metre)  at  170  to  the  minute.  This  appears  8tep 
to  be  the  German  rate  with  the  step  reduced  for  physiological 
reasons.  A  walking  step  in  excess  of  30  inches  is  too  long  for 
the  average-sized  man  to  persist  in. 


246  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

The  physiological  relation  between  the  length  of  the  step 
and  that  of  the  lower  limbs  has  some  bearing  upon  the  ease 
Physiology  of  marching.  There  is  a  natural  pendulum-like 
of  marching  swing  of  the  leg  which  fixes  the  stride,  and  al- 
though this  may  be  modified  within  narrow  lines  it  is  clear 
that  every  person  has,  somewhere,  a  limit  he  cannot  pass. 
As  this  varies  with  the  individual,  the  step  that  a  tall  soldier 
can  compass  may  be  absolutely  impracticable  for  one  who 
is  short. 

Whatever  may  be  the  requirements  of  the  roster,  it  is 
unwise  to  place  very  tall  troops  at  the  head  of  a  column, 
Leaders  of  because  they  are  liable  to  march  away  from  the 
marches  remainder  or,  more  exactly,  to  impose  special 
strain  on  the  others  to  maintain  their  places.  For  it  is  only 
exceptionally  well-drilled  men  who  preserve  exact  cadence 
in  route  marching.  On  the  other  hand,  although  for  the 
time  a  tall  man  may  march  with  greater  facility  than,  one  who 
is  short,  it  is  the  medium-sized  men  who  best  make  the  long 
marches.  Their  chest-capacity,  which  is  the  basis  of  vigor, 
is  not  sacrificed  to  disproportionate  length  of  limb.  Where 
it  is  important  that  a  column  should  reach  an  immediate 
objective  in  time,  it  is  good  policy  to  place  at  its  head  a 
brigade,  regardless  of  stature,  that  is  known  to  march  vigor- 
ously. An  example  was  that  of  Harris's  brigade,  trained 
by  long  and  active  marching  in  West  Virginia,  which  led 
Turner's  division  and  the  Army  of  the  James  in  its  race  to 
Appomattox.  Under  such  conditions,  where  all  are  enthu- 
siastic, pride  impels  the  main  body  to  preserve  its  position. 
On  special  occasions  any  troops,  especially  any  volunteer 
troops,  are  influenced  by  emotion,  regardless  of  their  drill, 
in  their  efforts  to  keep  up  their  pace  or  to  loiter,  as  high 
spirits  or  dejection  predominate. 

Tight  breeches  are  among  the  restraints  in  marching,  and 
Breeches  and  men  should  not  be  permitted, by  havingtheir  cloth- 
drawers  ing  altered,  to  sacrifice  efficiency  to  appearance. 
A  careful  company  officer  also  sees  that  the  drawers,  which 


MARCHES  247 

war  contracts  are  specially  liable  to  skimp,  measure  full  across 
the  hips.  It  was  found  during  the  Civil  War  that  the  western 
regiments  required  a  greater  proportion  of  large  sizes  in  both 
underclothing  and  shoes  than  those  from  the  east.  It  is 
probable  that  the  more  men  have  been  accustomed  to  out- 
door labor,  the  more  roomy  should  be  their  dress,  a  point  of 
special  importance  in  the  field.  The  hinderance  of  clothing 
is  particularly  marked  when  scantily  clad  native  levies  are 
put  in  uniform;  and  the  extreme  fulness  of  the  zouave  pos- 
tume,  designed  for  an  entirely  different  purpose,  facilitates 
marching.  Another  factor  in  ease  of  marching  is  an  unencum- 
bered chest.  Easy  walking  requires  the  freest  distribution  of 
blood  and  co-ordinate  freedom  in  breathing.  Pressure  or  straps 
upon  the  chest  make  the  heart's  action  labored,  Unrestraint 
lessen  inspiration,  and  consequently  impede  physi-  °f  the  chest 
cal  vigor.  It  follows  that  the  conditions  may  completely 
alter  the  relation  of  the  same  march  to  different  men;  hence 
it  is  much  better,  while  insisting  upon  uniformity  Freedom  of 
for  parade  purposes,  when  at  route  step  to  allow  route  step 
men  to  walk  literally  at  will.  The  less  their  physical  effort, 
the  fresher  they  will  be  at  the  end. 

Marching  does  not  mean  merely  the  regulated  movements 
of  the  drill  ground  or  progress  along  an  unobstructed  highway. 
It  implies  a  sustained  power  to  pass  over  long 
distances  with   reserve   strength   to   be  effective 
at  the  destination.     The  art  of  marching  culminates  in  that 
ability  of  the  troops  to  place  themselves  where  they  are 
required,  which  vitalizes  tactics  and  strategy  and  thus  in 
some  respects  out-ranks  fire  action.     No  effort  is   wasted 
which  enables  the*  mass  of  the  army,  not  merely  a  few  selected 
detachments,  to  take  up  its  true  position  at  the  proper  time. 
To  attain  that  ability  the  ordinary  practice  march    Practice 
should  be  an  habitual  exercise;  for  it  is  as  much    marches 
the  result  of  training  and  experience  as  marksmanship  is, 
and  it  is  far  more  important.     Because  one  man  moving  at 
his  own  discretion  and  unencumbered  may  cover  twenty-five 


248  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

or  thirty  miles  a  day,  it  by  no  means  follows  that  he  can  do 
the  same  when  loaded  with  his  necessary  equipment  and 
hampered  by  thousands  of  others,  unless  he  and  they  have 
been  taught.  Even  with  well-practised  troops,  the  first  stage 
in  a  long  march,  exigencies  permitting,  should  be  short. 
Eoute  This  is  as  true  for  cavalry  as  for  infantry.  With 

marching  troops  unseasoned  in  marching,  whether  old  sol- 
diers or  recruits,  the  first  stage  should  be  very  short.  This 
may  gradually  increase  until  the  maximum  is  reached  in  a 
fortnight,  rarely  sooner;  although  men  really  drilled  in  route 
marching  can  attain  the  limit  much  earlier.  In  moving  out 
from  garrison  or  from  a  prolonged  camp  the  first  march, 
whether  the  troops  are  seasoned  or  not,  should  be  for  a  very 
few  miles,  for  the  command  to  "  find  itself."  Invariably 
large  expeditions  will  lack  something  or  will  carry  an  excess, 
at  the  very  first.  The  exception  of  course  is  a  military  emer- 
gency which  brooks  no  delay.  When  in  the  field  one  entire 
day  out  of  ten,  besides  Sundays,  should  be  used  for  rest  and 
repairs;  although  stated  halts  are  seldom  possible  in  active 
campaign.  Good  infantry  will  fairly  out-march  cavalry  in  a 
protracted  expedition,  but,  if  it  can  be  avoided,  those  two 
arms  should  not  march  together;  that  is,  they  should  use 
independent  roads.  The  act  of  marching  is  influenced  by 
the  weather,  the  roads,  the  spirits  of  the  men,  the  immediate 
object  in  view,  and  the  size  of  the  command.  Head  winds 
and  extreme  heat  retard  progress,  as  do  deep  mud, 
sand,  ice  and  snow,  and  all  these  must  be  allowed 
for.  Heavy  dust  irritates  and  annoys  infantry,  but  does  not 
impede  progress  like  sand.  On  fair  roads  14  miles  in  10  hours 
is  good  marching  for  a  large  army,  but  a  regiment  easily 
covers  the  same  distance  in  4  hours.  Seasoned  troops  some- 
times make  forced  marches  of  prodigious  length  at  high  speed, 
Forced  but  single  divisions  are  usually  the  maximum 

marches  commands  for  such  successful  effort.  In  every 
case  none  but  men  of  assured  fitness  should  be  allowed  to 
participate -or  there  will  be  a  trail  of  the  disabled  by  the  way. 


MARCHES  249 

Night  marching  requires  at  least  half  as  much  additional 

time  as   to    march   over    the    same  route  by  day,   besides 

draining  energy  through  loss  of  sleep  and  the  extra 

strain  of  mind  and  body  required  in  such  duty. 

Where  possible  the  troops  should  move  in  columns  parallel 

to  but  not  on  that  highway  which  has  been  reserved  for  the 

trains;  for  the  great  comfort  of  having  the  wagons  well  up 

when  camp  is  made  is  full  recompense  for  the         . 

somewhat  greater  fatigue  of  the  route.     This  rule 

does   not   apply    to   relatively    small    commands.     Infantry 

should  march  with  as  wide  a  front  and  in  as  open  order  as 

possible  to  avoid  crowd  poisoning;  for  this  may 

occur  in  stagnant  air  out  of  doors  as  well  as  within 

confined  quarters.     Heat  prostration  is  much  more  likely  to 

occur  in  crowded  ranks  than  with  skirmishers. 

Frequent  and  regular  halts  are  desirable,  the  first  of  15 
minutes  at  the  end  of  2  miles,  when  the  men  should  be 
encouraged  to  relieve  themselves  and  to  readjust  their  loads, 
and  afterward  for  10  minutes  every  hour  or  hour 
and  a  half.  If  the  halt  is  designed  to  be  longer 
or  shorter  than  is  customary,  it  should  be  announced;  and 
the  probable  duration  of  unpremeditated  halts  should  be 
signalled  back  from  the  head  of  the  column,  or  a  mounted 
officer  be  sent  forward  for  information.  Many  interruptions 
of  progress  are  due  to  pure  congestion  of  the  way,  partly 
by  dilatory  movement  across  minor  obstacles  and  partly  by 
the  interference  of  trains  and  other  troops.  The  first  shows 
poor  company  discipline,  the  last  bad  staff  management. 
The  successful  conduct  of  a  march  is  a  good  indication  of 
military  capacity,  and  the  larger  the  command  the  more 
difficult  the  task.  The  relation  of  the  conduct  of  marches 
to  sanitation  lies  in  its  bearing  upon  the  physique  sanitary 
and  the  disposition  of  the  men.  To  hold  them  character  of 
in  ranks  through  a  halt  whose  length  is  uncertain  marclie8 
wastes  energy,  and  few  conditions  fret  good  troops  more 
than  such  formalism  during  uncertain  stops.  It  is  no  waste 


250  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

of  time  for  men  at  every  halt  to  spread  out  and  rest;  but 
they  should  not  be  allowed  to  straggle  from  the  column, 
and  they  must  be  drilled  into  promptly  resuming  their  places. 
Otherwise  the  trifling  delay  each  company  or  regiment 
makes  in  taking  up  the  march  is  magnified  as  it  passes  to 
the  rear. 

The  fatigue  of  a  march  is  not  entirely  due  to  the  act  of 
walking.  It  is  nearly  as  exhausting  and  much  more  irksome 
Fatigue  of  to  stand  than  to  walk,  and  when  a  man  bearing 
standing  weights  stands  in  a  state  of  expectant  attention 
there  is  constant  expenditure  of  muscular  and  nervous  force. 
Jerky  progression  is  little  better,  and  is  very  trying  to  the 
muscles  and  the  temper  of  the  men  at  the  rear  of  the  column 
who  have  no  means  of  knowing  the  conditions  in  front. 
This  generally  depends  upon  the  leading  fours  attempting  to 
avoid  some  little  obstacle  of  mud  or  water,  which  should 
never  be  tolerated  except  in  very  small  commands.  No 
particular  command  should  resume  the  march  until  its  rear 
is  well  closed  up,  otherwise  there  is  constant  strain  to  catch 
up  and  a  corresponding  interference  with  the  interval  sepa- 
rating the  succeeding  regiment  or  brigade.  To  minimize 
such  delays,  where  packs  are  unslung  there  should  be  a  pre- 
paratory signal  for  their  readjustment  two  minutes  before 
the  advance.  When  halted,  men  should  be  encouraged  to 
To  rest  lie  down  flat  on  the  face  or  the  back,  having  pro- 

halting  tection  from  the  wet  soil.  To  lie  at  full  length 
with  all  the  muscles  relaxed  is  a  much  greater  relief  than  to 
lean  against  a  tree  or  to  recline  in  a  fence  corner.  Recruits 
should  be  so  instructed;  old  soldiers  have  learned  it  by 
experience.  The  French  are  said  to  save  time  and  avoid  the 
mud  by  squads  of  20  or  30  forming  a  circle  at  the  brief  road- 
side halts  and  every  man  sitting  upon  the  knee  of  the  man 
behind  him.  To  sound  the  assembly  prematurely  is  a  most 
aggravating  trial  to  the  men  in  the  ranks  and  a  waste  of  their 
strength.  As  Lord  Wolseley  remarks,  "  fussy  and  fidgety 
commanding  officers  .  .  .  are  prone  to  turn  their  commands 


MARCHES  251 

out  earlier  than  necessary."  The  order  of  march  being 
known,  neither  brigades  nor  regiments  should  be  obliged  to 
fall  in  prematurely.  It  requires  a  long  time  for  premature 
a  division  to  stretch  out,  and  the  rear  regiments  "assembly" 
may  well  be  spared  much  of  this  unnecessary  waiting  under 
arms.  The  same  principle  applies  to  the  annoying  waste 
of  time  and  patience  in  garrison  while  awaiting  orders  for 
parade  and  inspection. 

In  marching,  music  is  more  than  a  gratification,  it  is  an 
aid.  The  tap  of  the  drum  assists  a  common  step,  the 
fife  and  drum  are  exhilarant,  and  a  full  band  is  . 
stimulating.  Bag-pipes,  unknown  to  our  army, 
are  most  animating  and  might  well  be  introduced.  Our 
soldiers  are  too  silent.  Vocal  music,  especially  singing  in 
concert,  should  always  be  encouraged,  for  on  the  march  it 
is  beneficial  as  well  as  attractive.  It  expands  the  chest  and 
diverts  the  attention.  Columns  in  route,  unlike  scouts  and 
pickets,  have  little  to  excite  them,  and  they  should  not 
dwell  on  their  hardships,  but  profit  by  the  amusement  and 
the  incidental  interest  their  own  and  their  comrades'  music 
supplies. 

In  campaign  men  should  be  required  to  keep  the  hair  short, 
to  use  the  tooth-brush,  and  to  bathe  daily  the  head,  the  feet, 
the  armpits,  groins,  anus,  and  genitals.  For  this 
purpose  a  very  little  water  is  sufficient.  While 
general  cleanliness  is  always  important,  that  of  the  groins  and 
feet  is  necessary  for  efficient  marching,  and  cleanliness  of  the 
perinseum  reduces  the  liability  to  boils  in. that  situation. 
Even  in  temperate  climates,  new  men  are  apt  to  chafe  in 
the  groins  and  the  buttocks,  and  if  pressed  too  hard  at  first 
they  will  quite  break  down  with  disabilities  that  otherwise 
would  be  temporary.  In  the  tropics  the  resulting  abrasions 
afford  an  inviting  sphere  for  distressing  parasitic  diseases, 
notably  "dhobie  itch,"  which  positively  disqualify.  Un- 
seasoned men  with  ill-fitting  shoes  or  rough  stockings  may 
become  disabled  from  sore  or  blistered  feet.  Where  the  skin 


252  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

is  not  abraded,  this  tenderness  is  simply  the  bruising  of  unac- 
customed muscles,  whose  only  preventive  is  practice  march- 
Disabled  feet  ing  singly> in  S(luads,  or  with  tne  whole  command. 
Soreness  or  chafing  comes  from  misfitting  shoes, 
and  is  usually  the  man's  fault.  In  the  German  army  sore 
feet  are  reckoned  a  military  offence  on  the  man's  part  and  his 
captain's.  When  camp  is  reached  all  such  men  should  be  sent 
to  sick  call,  for  relief  but  not  to  be  readily  excused.  Painful 
as  blistered  feet  are,  permission  to  ride  should  be  given  spar- 
ingly for  its  effect  on  others.  A  man  who  "walks  on  the  nail" 
has  been  inadvertently  enlisted  and  should  be  at  once  taken 
out  of  the  ranks  and  discharged.  The  army,  with  any  ap- 
proach to  equality  with  its  adversary,  that  marches  best  will 
win  the  campaign. 

As  a  rule  camp  should  not  be  broken  before  daylight,  and 
night  marches  are  to  be  avoided.  The  broken  rest  over- 
Night  balances  any  ordinary  advantage  from  prolonged 

marching  repose  due  to  an  earlier  halt,  for  soldiers  on  active 
campaign  are  not  apt  to  sleep  before  night.  Marching  at 
night  is  difficult  except  over  well-defined  and  open  roads,  and 
from  a  military  point  of  view  such  expeditions  of  any  length 
are  notoriously  liable  to  fail.  From  sanitary  considerations 
they  are  objectionable;  in  winter  as  more  exposed  to  the  cold, 
in  the  summer  as  especially  inviting  nocturnal  insects,  includ- 
ing the  fever-bearers,  and  at  all  seasons  as  destroying  rest. 
Elsewhere  than  on  a  broad  smooth  road  under  full  moonlight, 
nearly  double  the  ordinary  time  should  be  allowed  for  night 
expeditions.  This  does  not  militate  against  assaults  at  the 
break  of  dawn  where  the  immediate  end  overrides  sanitary 
considerations;  nor  the  equal  necessity,  in  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  the  enemy,  of  being  under  arms  at  that  hour  to  repel 
such  assaults.  But  when  possible  hot  coffee  and  hard  bread 
should  be  served  before  falling  in.  It  is  obvious  that  there 
are  many  occasions  when  night  marches  must  be  made,  but 
this  advice  is  against  their  employment  merely  because  of 
presumed  convenience.  In  the  tropics  there  is  temptation 


MARCHES  253 

to  march  at  night  to  avoid  the  sun's  heat,  but  experience 
opposes  it.  Tropical  marches  should  invariably  begin  early 
and  be  suspended  during  the  five  hottest  hours,  Tropical 
when  if  necessary  they  may  be  resumed  later,  marches 
Now  that  it  is  known  that  it  is  not  miasmata  but  mosquitoes 
that  are  harmful,  reasonable  precautions  may  be  taken  during 
the  border  hours  when  they  are  afield.  But  the  mid-day  sun 
is  as  deadly  as  malaria,  although  through  another  channel, 
if  challenged  without  protection.  An  officer,  ignorant  qr 
ordered  by  authority  that  spurned  official  advice,  has  paraded 
men  in  a  tropical  mid-day  for  a  march  that  as  well  might  be 
made  earlier  or  later.  There  is  reason  to  fear  that  this  is  not 
exceptional.  When  there  is  any  choice  of  hour  for  a  tropical 
march,  it  should  be  so  arranged  that  whatever  inclination 
there  may  be  in  the  nearly  vertical  sun,  the  men's  spines  are 
to  be  given  advantage  of  it  as  far  as  possible.  Special  spine 
protectors  in  our  service  and  orange  light  interceptors  are 
yet  on  trial,  but  the  presumption  is  in  their  favor.  Continuous 
tropical  heat  directly  on  the  spine  is  nearly  as  harmful  as  when 
pouring  on  the  head. 

Some  experienced  men  in  marching  use  merely  a  damp  cloth 
on  the  face  and  neck  at  rising  and  fairly  wash  only  the  eyes 
and  mouth.     There  is  less  irritation  by  the  dust    Washing 
of  the  way  when  the  natural  oil  of  the  skin  is  not    the  face 
unduly  removed,  and  there  is  less  liability  to  sunburn.     On 
making  camp  the  more  completely  the  person  is  bathed  the 
better,  but  a  surprisingly  small  quantity  of  water  is  necessary 
for  cleansing  the  person  if  used  judiciously.     One  quart  of 
water  with  a  sponge  or  a  cloth  is  sufficient.     In  temperate 
climates  as  a  rule  no  fluid  should  be  drunk,  except  with  food, 
until  the  end  of  the  march  is  near.     If  a  man    Water  on 
begins  to  drink  while  marching,  the  desire  increases    tlie  march 
almost  irresistibly.     The  rare  exception  is  for  the  relief  of 
positive  exhaustion  from  excessive  perspiration.     But  can- 
teens of  water  or  weak  tea  should  be  carried  as  a  precaution. 
In  the  tropics,  to  avoid  heat  prostration  when  the  blood  loses 


254  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

too  much  of  its  fluid  through  perspiration,  that  waste  must 
be  supplied  by  the  judicious  use  of 'water.  This  privilege  is 
liable  to  abuse,  and  intelligent  non-commissioned  officers 
should  be  on  the  alert  to  control  it.  The  canteens  should  never 
be  replenished  from  the  roadside  —  this  is  imperative  —  but 
only  from  a  regimental  supply  of  boiled  or  otherwise  certified 
water  carried  with  the  command.  As  the  sensation  of  thirst 
resides  in  the  fauces  and  often  is  present  when  there  is  no 
physiological  thirst,  it  may  be  relieved  in  great  part  by  carrying 
in  the  mouth  a  pebble,  or  other  small  solid,  whose  presence 
maintains  moisture  there  by  inducing  a  flow  of  saliva.  Absti- 
nence from  fluid  while  marching  is  an  easily  acquired  habit 
of  great  convenience,  for  the  man  who  begins  taking  water 
on  the  route  will  find  himself  in  a  state  of  chronic  thirst  from 
no  real  deficiency,  but  because  the  dryness  of  the  mouth  is 
relieved  only  for  the  instant. 

Although  marching  troops  are  conspicuously  healthy  troops, 
it  is  impossible  to  win  battles  unless  the  men  are  present  for 

duty;  so  a  medium  of  speed  and  distance,  which 
Straggling  . 

both  health  and  discipline  mark  as  a  standard, 

must  be  attained  and  maintained.  Straggling  is  a  serious 
evil  that  directly  affects  physical  vigor  as  well  as  military 
.power.  And  it  is  an  evil  which  grows  powerfully  through 
example.  The  moment  that  men  elude  control  and  drop  out 
of  ranks  they  lose  the  advantage  of  the  care  that  organization 
confers  and  the  powerful  moral  support  of  a  common  purpose. 
As  companies  and  regiments  disintegrate,  the  individuals, 
deprived  of  the  help  and  encouragement  of  the  military  society 
to  which  they  belong  and  depressed  by  the  dejection  of  other 
stragglers,  pursue  a  weary  way  without  vigor  of  body  or  unity 
of  purpose;  and  in  proportion  as  they  multiply  the  army 
ingloriously  dissolves.  Therefore  an  adequate  ambulance 

train  should  constantly  be  at  hand  to  transport 
Ambulances 

the  really  ill,  for  good  troops  always  repay  thought- 
ful care  by  putting  forth  their  best  efforts  in  the  faith  of 
protection  when  disabled.  But  to  select  the  ill  from  the  lazy, 


MARCHES  255 

the  unfit  from  the  unwilling,  those  claiming  to  be  sick  should 
be  promptly  and  rigidly  scrutinized,  with  the  presumption 
against  them,  by  a  medical  officer  of  judgment  after  their 
company  commander  has  authorized  them  to  fall  out.  Ill- 
ness rarely  occurs  so  suddenly  that,  it  may  be  at  some  incon- 
venience, a  man  cannot  keep  up  until  the  next  halt,  and 
company  officers  should  assume  part  of  the  responsibility  of 
retaining  men  in  ranks  long  enough  for  medical  inspection. 
On  the  other  hand  want  of  consideration  and  too  persistent 
forced  marches  may  keep  thousands  off  the  firing  line  in  spite 
of  relentless  discipline.  A  probable  illustration  of  Over-march- 
this  is  the  case  of  the  German  Garde-Corps,  pre-  in£ 
sumably  selected  troops,  in  1870.  They  left  the  Rhine,  30,000 
infantry,  August  3d;  they  lost  less  than  9,000  in  action;  the 
morning  after  Sedan,  September  2d,  they  numbered  13,000; 
and  they  reached  Paris,  September  19th,  with  9,000  present. 
That  is,  in  about  seven  weeks  more  than  11,000  were  broken 
down  by  over-exertion,  for  the  camps  were  so  brief  and  the 
operations  so  active  that  there  was  little  illness.  Neverthe- 
less it  is  the  rule  that  marching  troops  are  healthy  troops,  and 
the  less  any  soldiers  remain  in  garrison  or  camp  the  better  for 
them. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  soldier  in  the  field  must  bear  upon 
his  person  certain  essentials.     At  a  minimum  these  are  arms, 
ammunition,  and  a  moderate  supply  of  water  and    carriage  of 
food.     What  else  should  be  carried  has  long  been    weights 
seriously  discussed  and  is  not  to  be  settled  off-hand.     Raw 
troops  invariably  overload  themselves  and  afterward  reck- 
lessly   abandon   property    that    they    should    retain.     After 
careful  inspection,   to  be  frequently  repeated,  every  ounce 
not    formally    authorized    should    be    relentlessly    discarded 
and  a  strict  responsibility  enforced  so  that  nothing  else  is 
thrown  away.     It  may  be  well  on  taking  the  field  Double 
to  prepare   two   schedules,   one   of   articles   that  schedules 
must,  and  the  other  of  such  as  may,  be  carried.     The  limit 
of  the  first  should  not  be  lowered  nor  that  of  the  second  be 


256  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

exceeded;  but  in  fact  there  need  be  little  difference  between 
them,  for  to  carry  unnecessary  weight  wastes  energy.  There 
is  a  strong  modern  feeling  that  the  infantry  should  have 
everything,  the  implements  of  war  and  daily  food 
excepted,  carried  for  them,  so  that  the  very  name 
"  pack  "  seems  almost  to  be  regarded  as  a  degradation  and 
hardship.  That  is  a  fundamental  error.  The  soldier  must  be 
self-sustaining  wherever  he  may  find  himself,  independently 
of  the  trains.  This  has  always  been  an  essential  of  his  oc- 
cupation and  is  no  impossibility.  The  practical  difficulty 
seems  to  be  not  that  men  of  true  military  age  are  less  sturdy 
than  they  were,  but  that  so  much  material  now  looked  upon 
as  necessary  was  formerly  thought  superfluous.  As  the  re- 
quired weight  varies  with  the  climate  and  the  duty,  and  as 
particular  articles  are  replaced  by  others  or  the  standard 
patterns  are  changed  from  time  to  time,  it  would  waste 
attention  to  study  in  detail  the  shifting  figures.  But  in  a 
Necessary  general  way  it  is  necessary  for  the  soldier  to  possess 
weights  his  arms,  ammunition  and  accoutrements,  about 
23  Ibs.;  one  day's  food  and  water,  3£  Ibs.;  carrying  equipment 
exclusive  of  knapsack,  about  4J  Ibs.;  blanket  and  shelter- 
half,  8  Ibs.  (dry);  and  clothing  upon  the  person,  10  Ibs.;  or  a 
total  of  very  nearly  50  Ibs.  This  is  easily  increased  by  more 
rations,  extra  ammunition,  a  change  of  underclothing,  and 
additional  equipage,  as  slicker  and  tools.  Notwithstanding 
it  is  the  object  of  all  services  to  reduce  this  to  the  minimum, 
the  British  infantry  carry  about  50  Ibs.  and  the  continental 
infantry  between  60  and  75  Ibs.  per  man.  It  is,  however,  the 
distribution  and  the  method  of  carrying,  rather  than  the 
gross  weight,  which  is  oppressive.  Thus  the  clothing  as  worn 
weighs  from  10  to  12  Ibs.,  and  more  in  severe  weather.  When 
badly  fitting  it  restrains  movement,  but  it  is  so  distributed 
upon  the  person  that  its  weight  as  such  is  not  heeded.  The 
rifle  may  be  shifted  within  certain  limits.  The  canteen  and 
haversack  and  their  contents,  utensils,  ammunition,  tentage, 
and  spare  clothing  are  the  dead  weight,  but  this  is  trifling 


MARCHES  257 

compared  with  what  other  soldiers  and  many  civilians  carry 
without  complaint  or  serious  inconvenience.  The  real  dis- 
tress comes  from  the  pressure  across  the  chest  and  Pressure 
under  the  armpits,  which  interferes  with  respira-  upon  the 
tion  and  circulation,  and  from  the  want  of  venti-  chest 
lation  at  the  back.  In  proportion  as  the  chest  is  unimpeded 
will  the  vigor  of  the  man  remain  unimpaired  until  he  is  liter- 
ally borne  down  by  overweight.  It  is  a  fundamental  fact, 
too  often  overlooked,  that  the  lungs  must  freely  dilate  for  the 
admission  of  the  air  which  exertion  demands,  and  the  elastic 
walls  of  the  chest  must  expand  for  their  accommodation. 
When  such  natural  expansion  is  restrained,  the  action  of  the 
lungs  is  proportionately  trammelled  and  there  follows  auto- 
matically the  heart's  effort  to  compensate  for  the  insufficiency 
of  air  by  trying  to  drive  the  blood  more  rapidly  through  the 
lungs  for  aeration  by  what  air  is  present.  But  even  the  heart's 
own  action  is  partly  fettered  by  the  restraint  of  straps  that 
bind  down  the  chest.  This  requirement  of  free  expansion 
is  apt  to  be  overlooked,  and  the  fact  to  be  neglected  that 
in  exercise  those  vital  organs  require  physical  freedom,  not 
merely  for  the  man's  comfort  but  for  him  to  do  efficient  work. 
This  primary  principle  is  bound  up  with  that  ability.  The 
old  knapsack  held  the  chest  as  in  a  vise  and  increased  the 
soldier's  fatigue  by  cutting  off  his  air.  Besides,  Knapsack 
straps  under  the  armpits  were  painful  and  some-  and  sub- 
times  caused  temporary  pressure-paralysis  of  the  Btitutes 
arms.  In  the  effort  to  escape  from  that  confinement,  the  in- 
adequate makeshift  of  a  blanket-roll  was  evolved  in  the  field. 
The  first  formal  substitute  was  the  clothing-bag  to  be  worn 
upon  the  hip  from  a  brace  yoke,  issued  about  1874.  This 
was  replaced  in  1882  by  the  blanket  bag,  which  in  sub- 
stance was  the  old  knapsack  leaving  the  chest  somewhat 
freer.  It  was  so  unsatisfactory  that  the  unofficial  blanket- 
roll  has  been  permitted  in  orders  to  be  worn  "  until  some 
more  satisfactory  method  of  carrying  the  pack  has  been 
devised."  The  blanket-roll,  evolved  by  the  exigencies  of  the 


258 


MILITARY  HYGIENE 


Blanket-roll 


field  and  used  by  both  armies  in  the  latter  part  of  the  Civil 
War,  is  simply  the  soldier's  blanket,  in  which  spare  under- 
clothing and  small  articles  are  enclosed,  rolled 
lengthwise  with  the  ends  tied  together.  This  is  car- 
ried across  the  body  from  one  shoulder.  The  shelter-half  is 
usually  wrapped  around  the  blanket.  The  roll  is  inconvenient 
in  affording  no  protection  for  the  contents  when  the  blanket 
is  in  use,  and  it  is  oppressive  in  that  it  heats  both  breast  and 
back,  and  lying  against  the  chest  its  weight  seriously  impedes 
respiration.  To  relieve  the  chest  a  yoke  of  bent  wood  to 
which  the  roll  was  lashed  and  held  from  the  body 
has  been  tried,  but  although  excellent  in  theory 
it  was  found  that  the  weight  when  not  partly  borne  against 
the  body  pressed  too  heavily  upon  the  collar  bone. 


Yoke 


Merriam  Equipment. 

The  conditions  of  military  necessity  and  sanitary  require- 
ment seem  to  be  nearly,  if  not  entirely,  met  by  the  Merriam 
Merriam  equipment.  Although  through  a  term  of  years 
equipment  permitted  for  regimental  use,  where  it  appears  to 
have  been  acceptable,  this  has  not  made  its  way  into  official 
favor  or  into  general  recognition.  Its  physiological  advan- 
tages are:  The  weight  is  taken  up  by  the  pelvis;  the  wallet  or 


MARCHES  259 

receptacle  falls  slightly  away  from  the  back,  so  that  there  is 
ventilation;  the  entire  chest  is  free  from  pressure;  it  may  be 
slung  and  unslung  without  delay;  and  if  desired  it  may  be 
worn  with  the  coat  perfectly  open.  This  equipment  has  two 
compartments,  one  for  spare  clothing,  in  which  extra  ammu- 
nition also  may  be  packed  in  an  emergency,  and  one  for  rations. 
This  dispenses  with  the  haversack  as  a  separate  article.  By 
shortening  the  strap  the  canteen  may  conveniently  be  attached 
to  the  equipment,  instead  of  the  strap  passing  across  the 
breast.  It  is  an  undecided  question  how  far  it  is  desirable 
constantly  to  carry  a  receptacle  for  two  kinds  of  supplies  when 
it  may  contain  only  one.  This  is  not  the  rule,  but  it  is  an 
important  exception  to  the  rule.  For  sometimes  all  that  the 
soldier  actually  requires  with  him  besides  his  arms  and  am- 
munition, are  rations  and  water.  Emergency  ammunition 
usually  can  be  stowed  in  pouches  and  pockets.  Spare  cloth- 
ing should  always  be  in  its  case,  however  the  soldier  may  be 
separated  from  it  or  wherever  he  may  be  engaged;  and  the 
equipment  itself  would  be  an  impediment  in  action,  par- 
ticularly if  loaded  with  articles  not  needed  at  the  time.  For 
the  carriage  of  rations  as  an  alternative  to  the  full  equipment, 
an  acceptable  substitute  would  be  a  water-proof  sack,  expan- 
sible or  not  as  may  be  determined,  to  be  detached  from  a 
permanent  strap  when  not  in  use,  and  worn  only  when  the 
equipment  is  not  carried.  Then  when  in  light  marching  order 
or  on  going  into  action,  the  full  equipment  may  be  left  behind 
and  onlj'  the  rations  and  water  for  the  day  be  borne  upon  the 
person.  It  is  open  to  inquiry  whether  this  equipment  affords 
sufficient  space  for  spare  clothing  along  with  the  rations,  and 
it  is  not  arranged  to  carry  both  an  overcoat  and  a  blanket. 
These  considerations  are  minor  and  secondary.  The  essential 
principle  of  the  Merriam  equipment  appears  to  solve  the 
carriage  of  the  soldier's  effects  in  the  field.  That  the  entire 
chest  is  free  from  any  pressure  is  the  preeminent  advantage. 
Personal  tests  by  men  who  cannot  wear  the  blanket  bag  give 
them  perfect  freedom  of  respiration  and  motion,  and  pedes- 


260  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

trian  tourists  accord  it  special  praise.  The  required  straps 
and  rods  appear  complicated  and  objectionable  to  the  inex- 
perienced; but  they  are  designed  for  individual  adjustment 
and  are  not  complicated,  and  when  this  adjustment  is  once 
effected  the  equipment  may  be  used  indefinitely.  The  garri- 
son soldier  detests  the  very  name  of  "pack,"  and  the  enlisted 
man  with  only  the  day's  march  before  him  naturally  prefers 
to  bear  no  weight.  But  accepting  an  equipment  as  a  necessity, 
this  is  the  most  rational  and  the  least  objectionable  of  all  the 
appliances.  Unwisely  small  commands  marching  to  change 
stations  have  sometimes  had  their  knapsacks,  or  the  equiva- 
lent, carried  in  wagons,  so  that  certain  officers  and  men  look 
upon  this  as  a  legitimate  custom  of  the  service.  But  an  army 
in  campaign  can  depend  on  no  such  precarious  help. 

Originally  the  shelter-half  was  carried  on  top  of  the  knap- 
sack.    Now  there  is  authority  to  wear  it  conveniently  prepared 
as  a  roll  across  the  body,  but  that  is  trying  to  the 
wearer.     The  supply  of  the  modern  small  arms 
introduces  a  new  problem  in  the  carriage  of  burdens.     More 
ammunition  than  ever  must  be  at  hand,  and  the  temptation 

to  use  bandoliers  revives  the  older  evil  of  chest 
Bandolier 

compression.      The   bandolier,    convenient   as   it 

seems,  should  be  discouraged  as  a  form  of  permanent  infantry 
marching  equipment;  for  distribution,  not  weight,  is  the  vital 
point.  With  multiple  pouches  and  pockets  for  the  regular 
allowance,  an  individual  reserve  in  the  bandolier  may  well 
be  carried  on  pack  animals  instead  of  on  the  person.  For 
such  animals  must  also  bear  the  general  reserve  small  arms 
ammunition  for  issue  when  contact  is  imminent  and  a  part  of 
the  ordinary  equipment  is  temporarily  laid  aside.  But  for  the 
Heavy  marching  soldier  to  be  fit  for  field  work  and  action, 

marching  he  must  day  by  day  be  independent  of  pack 
order  animals  and  wagon  transportation  and  be  accus- 

tomed to  bear  on  his  back  suitable  field  equipment.  To 
defer  such  familiarity  with  necessity  until  the  campaign  opens 
is  to  invite  defeat. 


XXVII 

WATER 

Water  is  more  necessary  to  animal  life  than  is  food,  and 
it  is  also  essential  to  vegetable  growth.     Its  apparent  origin 
is  the  clouds,  which  are  replenished  by  evaporation   Derivation 
from  the  ocean  and  other  reservoirs,  whereby  a   of  drinking- 
circle  of  supply  is  completed.     But  the  immediate   water 
source  of  the  most  of  the  drinking-water  is  streams  (including 
ponds  and  lakes),  springs,  or  wells,  and  these  are  filled,  gener- 
ally indirectly,  by  the  rainfall.     Surface  water  is  the  rain  or 
melting  snow,  which  in  part  runs  off  to  swell  the   surface  and 
streams,  and  the  streams  themselves;  and  the  sub-  ground 
soil-  or  ground-water  is   that  which   has  soaked   waters 
into  the  ground  and  is  supported  by  the  first  impenetrable 
stratum,  as  previously  explained.     The  subsoil-water  follows 
the  inclination  of  the  underlying  strata,   which  usually  is 
toward  the  valley  of  the  nearest  water-course,  so  that  much 
of  the  volume  of  a  river  is  made  up  of  this  water  which  enters 
it  below  the  surface  as  the  effect  of  this  lateral  flow.     The 
subsoil-water  also  has  a  perpendicular  movement,  depending 
chiefly  upon  its  quantity  and  the  obstacles  to  its  transverse 
course.     That  the  water  does  not  escape  from  a  river  through 
its  banks,  although  increasing  its  volume  in  that  way,  is  due 
to  the  silt  with  which  the  banks  are  lined  that  makes  a  coat- 
ing impervious  to  outward  flow.     Besides  the  subsoil-water, 
a  deep  supply  is  to  be  found  almost  everywhere  at  much 
lower  levels.     This  deep  water  is  derived  from  the  rain  water 
that  has  followed  the  lines  of  upturned  strata 
which  pierce  impervious  layers  until  it  is  held  at 
a  great  depth,  either  in  limited  natural  reservoirs  or  in  im- 
mense beds  whose  source  of  supply  may  be  far  distant.     Water 

261 


262  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

that  escapes  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  moderate 
quantities  is  called  a  spring.  A  spring  may  have  a  strictly 
Springs  and  local  origin  and  temporary  life,  as  the  outcome  of 
wells  rainfall  upon  higher  neighboring  ground,  in  which 

case  in  a  populous  region  it  is  quite  as  liable  to  be  impure  as 
pure;  or  it  may  flow  permanently  and  freely,  the  manifestation 
of  a  deep-seated  and  perennial  supply  from  a  remote  source. 
A  well  is  a  shaft  sunk  into  one  of  the  water-bearing  levels, 
generally  yielding  by  extraction  a  more  liberal  supply  than 
an  ordinary  spring.  Cisterns  are  artificial  reservoirs,  usually 
of  small  size  and  designed  for  rain-water.  A  tank  is  the 
Cisterns  and  common  name  of  a  local  reservoir  for  water 
tanks  pumped  from  wells,  or  for  the  more  convenient 

distribution  to  a  small  community,  as  a  garrisoned  post,  of 
water  diverted  from  a  distant  general  supply.  For  these 
there  are  certain  general  rules.  Thus:  Wooden  receptacles, 
whether  above  or  below  ground,  are  prone  to  decay  because 
of  the  fluctuating  water-line.  Underground  cisterns  may  be 
leaked  into  through  the  wall  or  from  the  surface.  Uncovered 
tanks,  whether  above  or  below  ground,  not  only  collect  dust 
and  leaves,  even  at  a  high  elevation,  but  birds,  insects,  and 
sometimes  the  smaller  climbing  animals  drown  in  them. 
All  these  require  frequent  inspection  and  stated  cleaning. 
All  cisterns  should  be  ventilated  and  also  are  to  be  carefully 
Mosquito  guarded  against  mosquitoes,  for  when  accessible, 
guards  especially  if  not  in  constant  use,  they  become 
ideal  breeding-grounds  for  those  noxious  insects.  Overflow 
cistern  pipes  ought  not  to  connect  with  sewers,  lest  foul  air 
Overflow  from  the  latter  should  be  absorbed  by  the  water 
pipes  to  which  the  pipes  would  conduct  it.  Iron  tanks 

are  liable  to  wear  away,  to  choke  the  pipes  with  rust  and  to 
discolor  the  water.  Lead-lined  tanks,  sometimes  suggested, 
Materials  are  dangerous  because  soft  water  readily  takes 
for  tanks  Up  lead,  which  is  poisonous.  Galvanized  iron 
may  be  used  only  if  it  is  of  the  best  quality;  otherwise  the 
zinc  may  be  given  off,  especially  in  water  charged  with  nitrates. 


WATER  263 

The  taste  of  zinc  is  disagreeable,  and  the  metal  is  poisonous 
when  continuously  absorbed.  In  hot  climates  galvanized 
tanks  must  be  protected  from  the  sun  by  a  casing  of  wood, 
and  in  cold  climates  all  overhead  tanks  should  be  encased  and 
be  guarded  by  artificial  heat  against  frost.  On  all  these 
accounts,  where  gravity  is  not  required  as  a  distributing 
force,  underground  cisterns  of  brick  well  lined  with  cement, 
and,  where  gravity  is  needed,  above-ground  tanks  of  wood, 
notwithstanding  their  shorter  life,  are  the  better.  In  brick 
cisterns  common  mortar  should  not  be  used,  because  the 
contained  lime  may  make  the  water  hard. 

Rain-water  collected  from  a  clean  surface  after  the  atmos- 
phere has  been  well  washed  is  the  purest  in  nature,  but  un- 
contaminated  storage  is  so  difficult  as  to  degrade  . 
cistern-water  from  the  first  rank.  In  the  collection 
of  rain-water  the  dust  should  be  washed  out  of  the  air  before 
the  rainfall  is  secured,  and  unless  the  collecting  surface  also 
is  very  clean  the  first  rainfall  should  be  allowed  to  run  off, 
or  to  be  carefully  filtered,  for  all  such  washings  introduce  a 
rapidly  decomposing  sediment.  The  bacteria  of  nitrification, 
which  are  purifying  agents,  may  be  introduced  into  wooden 
cisterns  by  throwing  in  a  little  clean  gravel,  on  which  they  are 
always  found.  The  quantity  of  water  that  may  be  collected 
from  a  non-absorbent  surface  is  determined  by  TO  measure 
multiplying  the  area  in  inches  of  the  horizontal  the  rainfall 
plane  by  the  depth  of  the  rainfall  also  in  inches.  That  is, 
square  feet  reduced  to  inches  ( X 144),  multiplied  by  the  inches 
of  rainfall  as  determined  by  a  gauge,  will  give  the  total  cubic 
inches  of  rain.  This  divided  by  1728  will  give  the  cubic  feet, 
or  by  231  will  give  the  United  States  gallons  of  water.*  The 
area  of  roofs  is  that  of  the  horizontal  plane  they  cover,  not 
that  of  the  slopes.  Excepting  rain-water  from  Kelat-ive 
a  perfectly  clean  surface  in  a  protected  reservoir,  purity 
the  best  water-supply  is  from  springs,  remote  from  human 
habitations,  large  lakes,  and  streams  flowing  through  unin- 

*  The  English  gallon  is  277.274  inches. 


264  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

habited  regions.  The  denser  the  population  and  the  more 
its  waste  is  discharged  upon  the  ground  or  directly  into  streams, 
the  worse  the  situation.  Wells  may  obtain  their  water  from 
Wells  either  the  ground-water  or  the  deep  supply,  and 

without  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  local  geology  it  is 
impossible  to  determine  from  which  it  comes.  The  arbitrary 
rule,  to  which  there  are  many  exceptions,  is:  Wells  less  than 
50  feet  deep  are  shallow  and  gather  their  water  from  the  gen- 
eral subsoil  supply;  those  more  than  50  feet  deep  draw  from 
the  deep  water-bearing  levels.  Nor  does  the  depth  of  a  well 
determine  off-hand  the  source  of  the  water.  For  example: 
Both  London  and  Paris  lie  over  impervious  basins  into  which 
water  drains  from  great  distances  and  where  it  may  be  reached 
by  the  artesian  method.  That  is,  the  water  rises  in  the  well 
by  the  pressure  from  the  levels  higher  than  that  where  it  is 
tapped.  But  New  York  is  underlaid  by  rocks  that  are  nearly 
perpendicular  to  the  horizon,  so  that  its  subjacent  water  is 
practically  surface  water  which  has  soaked  along  the  lines  of 
the  upturned  strata.  In  unstratified  rocks  there  is  no  such 
soakage.  Should  the  surface  soil  not  be  polluted,  the  water 
in  shallow  wells  is  as  good  as  that  in  deep  wells.  But  where 
the  soil  is  contaminated  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the 
well,  whatever  its  depth,  whose  water  passes  through  it  will 
become  equally  foul  with  a  shallow  one ;  so  that  the  longer  and 
more  densely  the  neighborhood  has  been  inhabited,  the  greater 
the  risk.  Ordinarily  well  water  in  a  closely  inhabited  region 
is  of  doubtful  excellence,  and  dwellings  that  stand  100  feet, 
or  less,  apart  should  condemn  intervening  wells.  The  rule  is 
Drainage  general  that  wells  drain  into  themselves  inverted 
area  cones  whose  radius  equals  their  depth.  In  sand 

the  area  of  soakage  is  much  greater,  and  any  well  may  receive 
a  supply  of  pure  or  impure  water  through  a  fault  or  fissure  in 
its  shaft  or  gallery.  Bearing  in  mind  the  lateral  flow  of  all 
subsoil  water,  wells  should  be  placed  so  as  to  collect  the  ground- 
water  moving  toward,  not  escaping  from,  a  polluted  site;  and 
no  well,  even  in  search  of  deep  water,  should  pierce  a  polluted 


WATER  265 

basin  because  of  the  risk  that  water  from  the  upper  levels  may 
be  conducted  to  the  lower  level  along  the  shaft.  The  driven 
well  is  a  comparatively  modern  device  adapted  to 
military  use  on  campaign  and  also  at  selected 
cantonments  or  posts.  It  consists  of  an  iron  tube  in  sections, 
which  are  screwed  together  as  required.  At  the  lower  ex- 
tremity is  a  steel  point,  and  the  first  section  is  perforated  for 
two  or  three  feet  from  the  end.  This  is  forced  into  the  soil, 
and  additional  sections  are  attached  as  needed.  When  the 
level  of  the  subsoil  water  is  reached,  a  pump  is  applied^  and 
after  the  muddy  water  is  drawn  off  the  flow  runs  clear.  There 
are  few  places,  even  deserts,  which,  not  being  too  rocky  or 
filled  with  lava,  will  not  promptly  afford  water  through  prop- 
erly operated  driven  wells.  Water  in  considerable  volume 
may  be  obtained  for  permanent  posts  by  gangs  of  such  wells 
set  in  a  fluvial  valley.  Driven  tubes  should  preserve  the  water 
from  contamination  from  above  if  they  are  properly  protected 
where  they  escape  at  the  surface.  When  desired,  water  may 
usually  be  found  easily  in  the  dry  bed  of  a  " sunken"  stream, 
or  good  water  may  be  obtained  by  piercing  the  bed  of  a  pol- 
luted river  and  pumping  through  a  water-tight  casing  from 
the  parallel  sub-fluvial  flow.  An  island  in  the  river  usually 
affords  an  excellent  base  for  such  an  operation.  On  a  larger 
scale,  although  this  is  a  matter  of  sanitary  engi-  Underground 
neering  rather  than  of  military  hygiene  proper,  galleries 
water  may  be  collected  by  subterranean  galleries  established 
across  the  flow  of  the  subsoil  water  and  deep  within  its  zone, 
permeable  on  the  side  through  which  the  water  enters  and  on 
the  bottom,  and  impermeable  where  it  would  escape.  But 
the  error  must  not  be  made  of  placing  it  as  though  it  would 
collect  water  from  a  river.  Water  found  near  the  sea  is  usu- 
ally brackish,  but  sometimes  a  large  underground  Wells  near 
volume  of  fresh  water  flowing  from  higher  ground  the  sea-side 
holds  back  the  salt  water  that  percolates  through  the  sand  so 
that  wells  very  near  the  shore  may  be  fresh.  Occasionally 
a  spring  of  fresh  water  may  be  found  below  high-water  mark, 


266  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

covered  without  being  destroyed  at  high  tide,  an  excellent 
illustration  of  the  movement  of  inland  water  toward  the  lower 
levels  of  natural  basins.  When  brackish  water  is  found  near 
the  sea,  wells  sunk  in  succession  further  and  further  inland 
finally  escape  the  saline  influence.  In  searching  for  water 
To  find  Parkes  advises  that  depressions  in  the  surface  of 
water  a  plain  be  tested,  and  that  even  on  a  sandy  plain 

moving  mists  or  swarms  of  insects  indicate  water  not  far 
below,  and  that  in  grassy  plains  water  is  most  likely  to  be 
found  where  the  herbage  is  densest.  While  that  is  a  valuable 
sign  for  finding  water,  it  must  be  remembered  that  if  water  is 
easily  reached  because  the  ground-water  is  comparatively  high, 
that  would  further  indicate  an  insanitary  site  for  a  post  or  a 
camp  of  any  duration.  Parkes  also  advises  that  among  hills 
wells,  that  is  trial  pits,  should  be  sunk  at  the  lowest  point,  not 
on  a  spur;  at  the  junction  of  valleys;  and  always  on  that  side 
of  a  valley  which  is  next  to  the  higher  ground. 

Water,  which  is  so  essential  to  life,  is  liable  to  many  varia- 
tions from  the  normal,  the  most  of  which  are  unobservable 
Contamina-  by  the  senses  and  some  of  which  are  vital  in  their 
tion  character.  It  is  a  grave  fallacy  of  the  unlearned 

m  water  ^Q  Believe  that,  excepting  where  it  is  grossly 
contaminated  mechanically,  the  appearance  or  the  taste  of 
water  is  evidence  of  its  essential  purity,  or  that  it  is  whole- 
some because  sparkling  and  without  unpleasant  flavor.  Out- 
side of  the  laboratory  there  is  no  perfectly  pure  water,  for  by 
its  very  great  solvent  power  water  takes  up  portions  of 
innumerable  substances  that  come  into  contact  with  it,  and 
Solution  and  it  also  holds  in  suspension  many  foreign  bodies 
suspension  accidentally  introduced.  Substances  in  solution 
completely  disappear  and  cannot  be  filtered  out,  as  for  in- 
stance salt  or  sugar.  Suspended  substances  do  not  entirely 
disappear  and  their  presence  may  be  shown  by  turbidity  or 
opacity.  Discoloration,  however,  in  itself  by  no  means 
certainly  indicates  suspended  contents,  for  some  pure  solu- 
tions, as  that  of  copper  sulphate  or  the  stain  of  some  vegetable 


WATER  267 

growths,  are  far  from  colorless  and  yet  the  coloring  matter 
may  not  be  filtered  out.     Water  may  contain  mineral  matter 
in  solution,  as  the  natural  alkalies  of  soda  and    Foreign 
potash  and  the  salts  of  iron ;  organic  matter  in    matters  in 
solution,  as  the  natural  extracts  in  swamps  of    water 
cedar  or  peat  and  the  artificial  infusion  of  tea;  mineral  matter 
in  suspension,  as  mud  and  sand;  and  organic  matter  in  sus- 
pension as  sawdust  and  sewage.     These  foreign  substances 
may  be  harmless,  as  the  ingredients  of  medicinal  springs;  or 
they  may  be  indirectly  harmful  or  have  disease-causes  asso- 
ciated with  them,  as  in  the  output  of  body-waste.     The  most 
serious  harm  in  contaminated  water  depends  upon  the  pres- 
ence of  the  tasteless  and  invisible  bacilli  which    Bacilli  in 
may  throng  water-courses  and  wells  and,  being    water 
imbibed,  cause  such  specific  diseases  as  dysentery,  typhoid 
fever,   and  cholera.     Water  charged  with  organic  waste  is 
liable  to  be  infected  at  any  time.     Dissolved  matters  can 
be  removed  only  by  chemical  action  or  by  reduc-    Substances 
ing  the  proportion  of  water  through  evaporation    in  solution 
(distillation),  so  that  a  part  of  the  contained  solid  is  pre- 
cipitated.    The  akaline  waters  of  our  western  plains  contain 
great  quantities  of  soda,  potash,  and  magnesia,  and  are  con- 
spicuous examples  on  a  large  scale  of  watery  solutions.     As 
far  as  known  they  may  be  purified  only  by  distillation.     They 
are  more  disagreeable  in  the  wet  season  because  the  alkali 
with  which  the  soil  is  permeated,  left  on  the  surface  by  evapo- 
ration in  the  dry  weather,  is  washed  into  the  wells  by  the 
rains  and  passes  into  them  with  the  increased  soakage  of  the 
ground-water. 

Water  is  arbitrarily  classed  as  hard  or  soft  as  it  contains 
more  or  less  than  ten  grains  of  mineral  matter  to  the  gallon. 
It  may  be  anticipated  that  the  water  "  which  flows  through 
calcareous  channels  is  hard  and  that  which  flows 
through  silicious  rocks  is  soft,"  the  hardness  de- 
pending upon   the  lime,  magnesia,  iron,  baryta,  alumina  or 
other  minerals  that  have  been  taken  up.     It  is  very  difficult 


268  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

to  cook  certain  vegetables,  especially  of  the  type  of  beans, 
in  hard  water,  and  a  great  deal  of  extra  soap  is  required  to 
neutralize  the  hardness  for  effective  washing.  It  is  therefore 
of  economical  importance  to  quarter  troops  when  practicable 
in  a  soft-water  region.  In  practice  hardness  is  recognized 
by  the  curdling  that  follows  an  attempt  to  dissolve  soap  in 
the  water.  Soaps  are  alkaline  oleates  which  quickly  form  a 
lather  when  mixed  with  pure  water,  but  in  the  presence  of  the 
substances  that  give  hardness  oleates  are  formed  and  no  lather 
occurs  until  the  bases  are  thrown  down.  Resting  upon  this  is 
the  soap  test,  one  of  the  convenient  methods  of  determining 
hardness.  There  a  standard  solution  of  soap  is  used  to  neu- 
tralize the  bases,  and  the  degrees  are  established  according 
to  a  fixed  scale.  Hard  water  is  generally  bright  and  sparkling 
in  appearance,  and  persons  accustomed  to  drinking  soft  water 
Change  of  usually  have  some  intestinal  trouble  after  drink- 
water  ing  hard  water.  The  reverse  is  also  true,  in  that 
the  drinkers  of  hard  water  are  apt  to  have  similar  trouble 
upon  drinking  soft  water.  -Other  sanitary  conditions  being 
equal,  mortality  is  not  influenced  by  the  hardness  or  softness 
of  the  water-supply.  But  where  it  is  known  that  a  required 
change  of  station  will  involve  the  use  of  a  different  character 
of  water,  company  officers  should  warn  their  men,  both  di- 
rectly and  through  their  non-commissioned  officers,  as  to  the 
consequence  of  drinking  the  new  water  in  excess,  and  should 
advise  them  to  be  moderate  in  the  amount  until  the  system 
accommodates  itself  to  the  new  conditions.  This  is  proper, 
because  the  profuse  diarrhoea  that  such  a  change  is  liable  to 
institute  weakens  the  man  for  the  time  and  seems  to  open  a 
possible  way  for  disorders  that  otherwise  might  be  escaped. 

What  is  known  as  the  total  hardness  of  water,  which  depends 
upon  the  bicarbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia  in  solution  and 
To  remove  upon  the  presence  of  free  carbon  dioxide,  is  divided 
hardness  into  the  temporary  or  removable  and  the  perma- 
nent or  fixed  hardness.  Now  when  water  is  boiled  for  half  an 
hour  carbon  dioxide  (CO2)  is  expelled  by  the  heat  and  the 


WATER  269 

bicarbonates  are  transformed  into  simple  carbonates,  and 
these  being  insoluble  are  precipitated  so  that  from  them  the 
water  may  be  poured  off  or  they  may  be  strained 
out.  Certain  soluble  compounds  (usually  sul- 
phates) of  lime  and  magnesia  remain  in  the  water  and  cannot 
be  extracted.  They  represent  the  permanent  hardness  after 
the  temporary  hardness  has  been  removed.  It  is  very  well 
to  boil  the  cooking-  and  drinking-water  in  this  way  and  for 
this  purpose  at  stations  where  it  is  very  hard.  In  a  small  way 
the  addition  of  sodium  carbonate  (washing  soda), 
which  is  the  domestic  laundry  practice,  sets  up  a 
reaction  which  creates  sodium  bicarbonate  and  lime  carbonate. 
The  bicarbonate  is  soluble,  but  the  insoluble  carbonate  is 
precipitated  and  thus  avoided.  The  third  and  the  best  method 
is  known  as  Clark's  process,  and  is  noted  here  chiefly  to  illus- 
trate its  principle.  In  the  military  service  it  would  be  most 
apt  to  be  used,  if  at  all,  for  a  very  large  post  which  Clark's  pro- 
had  an  independent  supply  of  very  hard  water,  cess 
In  Clark's  process  the  determining  agent  is  lime,  and  the 
quantity  required  is  decided  by  the  soap  test.  The  addition 
of  lime  subtracts  a  certain  amount  of  carbon  dioxide  (C02) 
from  the  soluble  bicarbonate  of  lime,  which  is  thus  converted 
into  an  insoluble  carbonate  and  falls  to  the  bottom  with  such 
other  carbonates  as  may  have  been  present  originally.  As 
an  example,  should  it  be  found  that  there  are  20-30  parts  of 
bicarbonate'  of  lime  in  100,000,  then  about  one  gallon  of  clear 
lime-water  should  be  added  to  every  ten  gallons  of  water,  or 
9  ounces  of  quicklime  to  every  400  gallons  of  water.  Used 
on  the  large  scale  for  which  it  is  especially  designed,  besides 
improving  the  quality  of  the  water  for  the  table  a  great  eco- 
nomic saving  is  made  in  the  consumption  of  laundry  soap. 

Besides  what  it  takes  up  in  solution,  water  may  hold  in 
suspension  both  organic  and  mineral  matter,  and    Suspended 
it  is  against  this  suspended  material,  much  of  which    substances 
is  offensive  to  the  eye,  that  the  most  of  the  processes  of  clari- 
fication and  nitration  are  directed.     Filtration  acts  upon  the 


270  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

invisible  as  well  as  the  visible  elements,  and  clarification  inci- 
dentally purifies  as  well  as  clears  the  water.  Muddy  water 
usually  contains  in  suspension  insoluble  particles  of  slightly 
greater  specific  gravity  than  the  water  itself,  so  that  when 
Sedimen-  allowed  to  rest  sedimentation  will  free  it  from  most 
tation  of  the  foreign  matter  and,  speaking  generally,  the 

remainder  may  be  removed  by  straining.  Therefore  settling- 
basins  on  a  large  scale  are  important  adjuncts  to  reservoirs, 
especially  where  the  water  is  derived  from  streams  running 
through  alluvial  bottoms.  But  although  unsightly  and  un- 
pleasant, mud  as  found  diluted  in  drinking-water  rarely  causes 
other  disease  than  the  diarrhoea  due  to  its  mechanical  irrita- 
tion. This,  however,  sometimes  is  grave  and  persists  as  long 
as  the  cause  lasts.  Sedimentation  on  a  small  scale  is  often 
efficacious  for  domestic  use,  and  water  as  muddy  as  the  Mis- 
souri will  become  perfectly  clear  if  undisturbed  in  a  covered 
vessel  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  suspended  alluvium  grad- 
ually but  completely  falls  to  the  bottom  and  the  supernatant 
liquid  may  be  poured  off.  With  care,  such  as  excluding  dust 
by  a  closely-fitting  cap  and  keeping  the  vessel  undisturbed 
for  at  least  twenty-four  hours,  a  supply  of  good  drinking- 
water  may  be  maintained  for  barrack  use.  This  requires 
duplicate  receptacles,  so  that  as  the  water  is  drawn  off  each 
may  be  carefully  washed  out.  Clear  water  is  not  to  be  assumed 
as  necessarily  pure  water,  but  clear  water  at  least  is  not  repul- 
sive to  the  eye.  Precipitation  implies  passive  sedimentation 
as  just  described,  or  it  follows  chemical  changes.  These 
Precipitation  cause  clarification  by  depositing  the  suspended 
by  alum  matters.  The  most  convenient  agent,  especially 
when  the  water  is  moderately  hard,  is  alum.  Of  this  about 
six  grains  may  be  added  to  the  gallon  or  a  lump  of  alum 
in  a  net,  or  even  in  the  hand,  may  be  moved  to  and  fro 
through  the  water.  It  should  be  observed  that  no  solution 
of  the  alum  itself  is  swallowed.  Some  persons  have  an  exag- 
gerated fear  of  the  poisonous  qualities  of  even  minute  quanti- 
ties of  alum,  but  in  this  case  that  agent  undergoes  chemical 


WATER  271 

decomposition  so  that  it  is  no  longer  alum,  and  its  components 
fall  to  the  bottom  along  with  the  impurities  in  the  water  which 
they  embrace.  When  the  water  is  very  soft,  a  little  calcium 
carbonate  (as  lime  or  lime-water)  and  sodium  carbonate  (wash- 
ing soda),  ingredients  in  most  naturally  hard  waters,  should 
first  be  introduced.  The  calcium  sulphate  and  the  bulky  alu- 
minium hydrate  which  then  form  entangle  the  suspended  par- 
ticles and  all  the  constituents  gradually  sink  together,  when 
clear  water  may  be  drawn  off.*  The  classical  illustration  of 
this  method  is  the  case  of  the  British  92d  Highlanders  on 
the  turbid  Indus  in  1868.  Half  of  the  regiment  drank  the 
untreated  river-water  and  suffered  from  diarrhoea,  while  the 
other  half  used  alum  in  the  water  and  was  exempt.  The  first 
half  then  adopted  the  alum  and  the  diarrhoea  ceased.  This 
treatment  of  river-water  muddy  from  contained  alluvium  is 
simple  and  effective  and  nearly  always  available.  Where 
water  is  turbid  from  clay  and  finely  divided  or-  Precipitation 
ganic  matter,  an  ounce  of  iron  perchloride  to  250  by  iron 
gallons  will  clarify  it  through  precipitation.  Should  excess 
of  iron  cause  acidity,  that  may  be  neutralized  by  the  gradual 
addition  of  two  or  three  ounces  of  sodium  carbonate  as  re- 
quired. It  may  be  remembered  for  experimental  use  in  the 
field  in  a  cactus  country,  that  fresh  cactus  leaves  clarification 
cut  up  will  clarify  some  turbid  waters.  The  dis-  by  cactus 
agreeable  fishy  or  oily  taste  and  odor  found  in  certain  waters, 
and  due  to  algae  (minute  vegetable  growths),  may  be  miti- 
gated or  removed  by  adding  one  ounce  of  citric  Algae  in 
acid  to  sixteen  gallons  of  water.  Citric  is  the  water 
predominating  acid  in  limes,  lemons,  and  similar  fruits,  is 
harmless  to  the  system  and,  properly  diluted,  is  acceptable  to 
the  taste.  When  water  may  stand  for  some  hours  clarification 
and  there  is  no  iron  in  it,  a  small  quantity  of  by  tannin 
tannin  has  a  similar  but  less  agreeable  effect.  Growing  vege- 

*  Commercial  alum  is  a  double  sulphate  of  aluminium  and,  usually, 
potassium.  The  calcium  carbonate  forms  an  insoluble  sulphate,  leav- 
ing a  voluminous  aluminium  hydrate. 


272  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

tation,  notwithstanding  it  may  color  the  water  green,  is  usu- 
ally of  advantage.  But  decaying  vegetation  is  harmful.  A 
Vegetation  very  few  bacteria  are  colored,  and  they  may  be 
in  water  numerous  enough  to  tinge  the  water;  but  this  is 
rare,  besides  which  its  unusual  appearance  does  not  determine 
that  the  water  is  harmful.  On  the  other  hand  dangerous 
water  may  be  sparkling  to  the  eye  and  pleasant  to  the  taste, 
because  charged  with  the  nitrites  of  animal  waste.  The 
Appearance  senses  therefore  are  not  trustworthy  witnesses  to 
and  quality  the  character  of  drinking-water,  and  the  distinc- 
tion between  improving  its  appearance  and  insuring 
its  wholesomeness  must  always  be  borne  in  mind.  Precipita- 
tion, and  in  fact  mere  straining,  rids  the  water  of  mechanical 
or  visible  impurities,  which  are  irritating;  but  the  dangerous 
conditions,  the  disease-causing  agents,  usually  are  the  invisible 
bacteria  to  be  either  destroyed  or  removed  as  most  conven- 
ient, and  the  two  remedial  agencies  shade  into  each  other 
imperceptibly. 

The  disagreeable  odor  of  impure  water  may  be  removed 
by  adding  a  teaspoonful  at  a  time  of  a  bright  solution  of 
Potassium  potassium  permanganate  (Condy's  fluid)  to  3  or  4 
perman-  gallons  of  water  until  a  permanent  light  color  is 
ganate  obtained.  Should  a  cloud  of  suspended  matter 

appear,  about  six  grains  of  alum  with  a  little  calcium  car- 
bonate will  carry  it  down,  provided  it  stands  a  few  hours. 
The  permanganate  is  an  oxidizer  and  its  action  is  directed 
against  the  specific  bacteria  and  the  organic  matter  which 
sustain  them;  and  its  reputation  as  a  preventive  of  cholera 
Charred  has  revived  in  India  after  a  period  of  discredit 
casks  there.  Where  water  must  be  stored  in  wooden 

casks,  their  interior  should  be  charred  occasionally.  Within 
moderate  limits  this  disintegrates  organic  matter.  Schaum- 
Bromine  a  berg  alleges  that  all  pathogenic  bacteria  in  water 
germicide  are  killed  in  five  minutes  by  1  cc.  of  a  20  per  cent, 
solution  of  bromine  and  potassic  bromide  each  to  5  litres 
of  ordinary  river-water.  When  the  water  is  very  hard  or 


WATER  273 

grossly  polluted,  more  of  the  solution  should  be  added  until  a 
yellow  tinge  lasting  half  a  minute  follows.  Under  any  cir- 
cumstances a  9  per  cent,  ammonia  solution,  equal  in  volume 
to  that  of  the  bromine  solution,  must  be  added,  or  the  solu- 
tion be  debrominated  by  sodium  sulphite  tablets.  Chemically 
the  bromine  method  appears  trustworthy  and  well  adapted  for 
small  parties  and  in  theory  for  large  commands,  although  the 
English  were  not  satisfied  with  it  in  the  Sudan  expedition  of 
1898.  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose,  however,  that  the 
working  organization  may  have  been  inadequate.  A  kilogram 
(2.2  Ibs.)  of  bromine  should  sterilize  16;000  litres  (3500  gals.) 
of  common  water.  But  the  bromine,  which  is  difficult  to 
handle,  must  be  contained  in  glass  capsules  of  convenient  size 
and  all  the  reagents  be  transported  with  great  care,  so  that  it 
seems  too  delicate  a  scheme  for  a  great  army  to  depend  upon. 
But  company  officers  on  minor  expeditions  might  be  thus 
equipped  under  special  instructions,  and  its  use  popularized  by 
degrees.  Notter  and  Firth,  after  practical  experience,  strongly 
commend  15-grain  tabloids  of  70  per  cent,  sodium  bisulphate, 
sweetened  with  saccharin,  and  flavored  with  oil  of  lemon, 
one  for  each  pint  of  water,  or  two  to  a  canteen.  The  taste, 
which  resembles  lemonade,  is  not  disagreeable  and  the  drug 
is  perfectly  innocuous  to  man.  It  is  confidently  asserted 
that,  exposed  to  it  for  twenty  minutes,  the  bacteria  of  cholera, 
typhoid  fever,  and  dysentery  are  certainly  killed.  The 
efficient  use  of  these  preventives  requires  their  action,  not 
necessarily  their  composition,  to  be  carefully  explained  to 
the  troops,  who  should  be  supplied  with  them  on  all  occasions 
of  detached  service  and  be  cautioned  to  drink  no  water  with 
which  the  tabloids  have  not  been  in  efficient  contact.  In 
fact  it  should  be  constantly  impressed  upon  the  men  that  in 
the  field  untreated  raw  water  as  a  beverage  is  Avoidance  of 
as  dangerous  as  a  display  of  fireworks  might  be  untreated 
at  a  powder  magazine.  The  sodium  bisulphate  water 
tablets  appear  particularly  adapted  for  mounted  commands. 
Where  circumstances  permit,  as  on  transports,  at  posts,  and 


274  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

in  some  camps,  the  drinking-water  may  be  sterilized  by 
distillation.  But  distilled  water  may  not  be  as  faultless  as 
Distilled  appears  at  first  sight.  If  the  supply  is  very  un- 
water  clean,  as  in  some  foul  harbors,  certain  impurities 

may  be  carried  over  with  the  steam  and  affect  the  bowels. 
Distilled  water  constantly  used  is  apt  to  irritate,  sometimes  be- 
cause of  its  very  purity  and  its  solvent  power  and  sometimes 
because  it  may  carry  over  'metallic  solutions  of  the  apparatus. 
Lead,  zinc,  and  copper,  either  alone  or  in  combination  with 
other  metals,  should  never  be  in  contact  with  distilled  water, 
and  constructing  and  supervising  quartermasters  should  con- 
stantly inspect  against  such  possible  contamination. 

The  every-day  and  efficient  treatment  of  water,  which  is 
nearly  always  possible  even  in  active  campaign,  is  by  boiling. 
This  may  be  by  companies  or  squads  in  camp- 
kettles,  or  by  every  man  for  himself  in  his  tin  cup; 
but  until  it  becomes  an  automatic  habit  the  non-commissioned 
officers  must  be  vigilant  to  prevent  water  as  found  in  wells 
and  streams  being  drunk,  unless  officially  announced  as  safe. 
Otherwise  cruel  experience  may  enforce  its  lesson.  It  is  a 
false  security  to  suppose  that  one  boiling  insures  perpetual 
safety.  Boiled  water  may  be  contaminated  by  fresh  exposure 
in  other  ways,  notwithstanding  the  original  pollution  will 
have  been  neutralized.  In  the  field,  to  boil  the  drinking- 
water  thoroughly  shortly  before  drinking  it  may  avert  un- 
numbered woes.  "  The  field  "  in  this  meaning  includes  the 
practice  marches  and  manoeuvres  of  peace  as  well  as  the 
operations  of  war,  and  without  this  care  troops  returning 
to  garrison  may  bring  typhoid  fever  with  them.  The  pre- 
pared camps  of  instruction,  whose  water-supply  is  carefully 
protected,  should  be  exempt  from  original  water-borne  cases, 
but  the  wells  of  villages  and  farms  are  fertile  sources  of  this 

distemper.     The  flat  taste  of  boiled  water  is  due 
Flat  taste  ,    .      .  .       •        i  j  • 

to  the  contained  gases  having  been  driven  out. 

The  air  may  be  partly  restored  by  pouring  the  water  to  and 
fro,  or  by  simply  dashing  it  about  and  thus  entangling  the  air. 


WATER  275 

But  insipidity  is  a  small  price  to  pay  for  relative  security. 
Boiled  or  distilled  water  does  not  keep,  especially  in  tropical 
climates,  as  well  as  untreated  water. 

Excepting  the  simple  sedimentation,  the  treatment  just 
explained  is  based  on  some  form  of  chemical  action  or  on 
heat,  which  changes  the  inorganic  contents  of  the  water  or 
directly  destroys  its  bacterial  life.  There  is,  besides,  the 
mechanical  removal  of  deleterious  substances  by  nitration. 

This  in  one  form  or  another  is  directed  against 

.  Filtration 

suspended    material,    dissolved    substances,    and 

bacterial  organisms  contained  in  the  water.  Filters  act  in 
one  of  three  general  ways:  (1)  By  straining,  or  mechanically 
arresting  suspended  matter  too  gross  to  pass  through  their 
pores;  (2)  By  the  attraction  of  masses,  as  when  minutely 
divided  contained  substances  adhere  to  the  filtering  material 
while  water  passes  slowly  through  the  interstices;  (3)  By  the 
removal  of  dissolved  substances  through  the  action  of  chemi- 
cals, which  form  new  compounds  and  the  whole  are  restrained 
together.  As  this  third  method  is  applicable  only  to  large 
volumes  of  water  supplied  to  considerable  communities,  it 
requires  no  discussion  here;  for  if  operated  at  a  large  post  it 
should  be  under  the  direction  of  specialists.  Sand  filters  also 
are  too  costly  in  construction  and  too  exacting  in  care  for 
military  posts,  but  they  are  so  efficient  in  removing  bacterial 
and  other  organic  causes  of  disease  that  their  principle  should 
be  understood.  Built  for  generous  service,  a 
sand  filter  consists  of  a  broad  and  deep  bed  of 
fine  sand  imposed  upon  coarse  sand,  which  rests  on  fine  gravel 
and  that,  in  turn,  on  coarse  gravel.  Such  a  filter  would 
restrain  impurities  mechanically,  but  its  most  valuable  func- 
tion is  the  nitrification  of  organic  matters  and  the  destruction 
of  microscopic  life.  This  is  effected  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
filter,  where  a  gelatinous  layer  forms  whose  contained  living 
matter  is  the  efficient  agent.  As  the  free  surfaces  of  the 
particles  of  sand  are  out  of  all  apparent  proportion  to  the 
cubical  bulk  of  the  mass,  there  is  a  very  large  area  upon 


276  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

which  is  formed  the  so-called  "  bacterial  jelly  "  which  puri- 
fies the  water.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  the  water  must 
have  access  to  the  "  jelly "  very  slowly,  otherwise  that 
would  be  dislodged  and  torn;  hence  four  inches  an  hour  is 
the  maximum  rate  of  downward  flow.  Hence  also  the  ser- 
vice of  a  large  population  requires  a  filter  of  enormous  super- 
ficies very  carefully  managed.  Such  a  filter  becomes  clogged 
or  "dead"  at  irregular  intervals,  depending  upon  the  amount 
of  work  done,  when  it  must  be  renovated  first  by  scrap- 
ing it  and  then  by  washing  the  removed  sand.  This  involves 
using  a  second  filter  while  the  first  is  out  of  commission. 
Perhaps  the  chief  point  about  sand  filters  that  line  officers 
should  remember  is  the  importance  of  maintaining  their 
skilled  staff  to  keep  them  effective  in  the  case  of  military 
occupation. 

It  is  a  fundamental  principle  that  no  filter  is  automatic  in 
its  power  of  renovation,  and  that  every  filter  requires  renova- 
Renewal  of  tion.  The  great  sand  filters  just  described  are 
filters  renewed  when  the  receiving  surface  is  scraped  and 

replaced.     All  others,  whether  fixed  or  movable,  should  be 
readily  accessible  in  every  part,  and  the  smaller  and  more 
portable  they  are  the  greater  care  they  demand.     A  cistern 
for  a  barrack  or  other  local  supply  should  consist  of  two  cham- 
bers, separated  by  a  perpendicular  diaphragm  reaching  nearly 
to    the    bottom.     The    bottom   itself   should   be 
covered  with  a  thick  layer  of  gravel,  with  sand 
above  it.     The  water  enters  one  apartment  and  is  coarsely 
strained  by  the  sand  and  gravel  through  which  it  percolates 
into  the  other.     Sedimentation  occurs  in  proportion  to  the 
time  the  water  is  at  rest.     The  filtering  material  should  be 
renewed  every  three  or  four  months,  and  more  frequently  if 
the  water  is  very  muddy.     A  fair  field  filter  for  the  supply 
of  small  commands  with  ordinary  water  is  a  cask 
charred  on  the  inside  (which  may  occasionally  be 
brushed)  and  pierced  at  the  bottom  with  very  small  holes. 
Better  is  one  barrel  within  another,  the  outer  repeatedly 


WATER  277 

pierced  through  the  bottom  and  the  inner  one  through  the 
sides  near  the  top,  the  intervening  space  filled  with  sand  or 
gravel;  and  the  whole  is  then  properly  fixed  in  the  Double 
stream  and  protected  from  overflow.    These  make  barrel 
running,  and  especially  muddy,  water  more  attractive,  but  they 
are  of  little  value  when  the  stream  is  contaminated  with  waste. 
At  this  time  the  most  of  the  minor  and  portable  individual 
filters  for  individuals  and  small  parties  are  dis-  filters 
regarded,  partly  because  of  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  such 
apparatus  with  an  active  force  and  partly  because  of  the 
reaction  against   undue  dependence    upon    them.      General 
recognition  of  the  bacterial  causes  of  disease  throws  discredit 
upon  appliances,  valuable  as  they  are  in  their  place,  which 
serve  as  mechanical  strainers  rather  than  biological  purifiers. 
The  commoner  filtering  materials  that  have  been  used  are  the 
following:  Animal  charcoal  (bone-black).    This  is  Animal 
objectionable  because  it  yields  nitrogen  and  phos-  charcoal 
phates,  which  favor  the  growth  of  bacteria  in  water.     It  oxi- 
dizes putrefactive  organic  matter,  but  active  organic  matter 
passes  through  unchanged.     In  other  words  it  does  not  steril- 
ize the  water  and  may  make  it  more  hurtful.     It  serves  as  a 
supplying  host;  thus  after  a  month's  use  a  filtrate  contained 
five  times  as  many  bacteria  as  the  unfiltered  water.     Sponge, 
sometimes  used  in  individual  filters,  acts  only  me-  Sponge, 
chanically,  and  being  itself  organic  soon  becomes  wool,  cotton, 
foul  from  the  retained  residuum.    Cotton  and  wool,  asl)estos 
woven  or  In  their  natural  state,  are  bad  for  the  same  reason. 
Asbestos,  arranged  to  be  replaced  after  purification  with  fire, 
is  better  for  individual  filters.     Vegetable  charcoal  and  coke 
sufficiently  exclude  micro-organisms  (P.  Frankland)  but  re- 
quire   frequent    renewal.      Spongy    iron,    the    best    of    the 
minor  agents,  arrests  suspended  substances  and  vegetable 
oxidizes  organic  matter,  but  it  deteriorates  slowly   charcoal  and 
and  therefore  requires  renewal.    The  common  indi-  8P°nsy  iron 
vidual  filters  put  on  the  market  in  every  campaign  are  worth- 
less, except  as  possible  strainers  of  mud.     They  soon  clog 


278  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  become  reservoirs  of  slime.  To  pour  the  water  through 
one  or  two  thicknesses  of  flannel  or  even  muslin,  which  may 
be  cleansed  or  renewed  as  required,  answers  as  well.  Both 
Commercial  are  valueless  against  disease-causes,  and  those  sold 
filters  in  the  shops  are  mere  money-making  devices  that 

impose  upon  the  ignorant. 

The  best  filtering  material  hitherto  devised  is  unglazed  por- 
celain, or  a  combination  of  clay  with  infusorial  earth,  and  the 
Chamber-  most  practicable  apparatus  is  the  Chamberland- 
land-  Pasteur.  It  consists  of  a  central  rod  or  "  candle " 

(bougie)  of  this  biscuit  through  which  the  water, 
enclosed  in  a  metal  jacket,  is  forced  by  a  pump,  sometimes  by 
the  pressure  of  the  service  pipes.  The  bacteria,  unable  to  pene- 
trate the  kaolin,  are  held  back.  But  as  they  will  ultimately  grow 
through  it  if  unmolested,  the  candle  must  be  removed  at  least 
once  a  week,  preferably  twice,  and  be  well  brushed  and  boiled 
or  exposed  to  a  hot  flame.  Under  such  conditions  this  filter 
is  absolutely  efficacious.  When  the  water  is  muddy  it  should 
first  be  passed  for  cleansing  through  some  coarse  filter,  other- 
wise mere  mud  may  imperviously  coat  the  candle.  Admi- 
rable as  it  is,  this  device  is  too  unwieldy  for  the  field  and  too 
delicate  for  the  barrack.  The  care  it  requires  involves  the 
intelligent  attention  of  a  private  family.  The  Berkefeld  filter, 
issued  to  camps  of  concentration  in  the  Spanish 
War,  is  of  the  same  general  type  as  the  Chamber- 
land,  with  the  cylinders  assembled  in  a  battery.  Turbid  water, 
which  soon  coats  the  cylinders  and  reduces  the  yield,  should 
first  be  clarified.  Under  pressure  of  40  pounds  3  cylinders 
yield  1£,  15  cylinders  yield  7J,  gallons  of  sterile  water  a  minute. 
This  filter's  efficiency  depends  upon  the  attention  given  to 
boiling  and  scouring  the  fragile  tubes,  a  duty  to  be  intrusted 
only  to  a  selected  permanent  squad.  When  that  work  is  well 
done,  the  result  is  admirable;  with  careless  or  ignorant  men, 
the  output  soon  deteriorates  in  amount  and  quality ;  and  when 
men  are  detailed  without  selection,  the  apparatus  is  quickly 
wrecked.  Properly  managed,  the  Berkefeld  filter  is  admirable 


WATER  279 

for  camps  of  position,  but  it  appears  certain  to  break  down  in 
campaign.  So  much  depends  upon  the  care  it  receives  that 
its  efficiency  is  an  index  of  the  intelligent  interest  of  the  officer 
in  charge. 

The  latest  American  military  filter  is  the  Darnall.*  This 
is  designed  to  restrain  all  impurities  after  clarification  of  the 
water  in  which  they  have  been  precipitated.  It  Darnall 
consists  of  a  tank  to  hold  the  water  undergoing  filter 
treatment  and  a  "  siphon  filter  "  which  is  suspended  in  it. 
The  "  siphon  filter  "  is  a  half-inch  galvanized-iron  pipe,  upon 
one  of  whose  arms  near  its  extremity  is  a  4-inch  brass  disk 
with  a  collar  2^  inches  wide.  A  similar  disk  and  collar  are 
attached  13J  inches  further  up.  Brass  rods  reenforced  mid- 
way by  a  brass  disk  connect  these  collars.  Below  the  upper 
edge  of  the  lower  collar  the  pipe  is  pierced  with  numerous 
holes  for  the  admission  of  the  filtered  water,  and  the  other 
arm  of  the  siphon-pipe  is  fitted  with  a  stop-cock.  The  whole 
of  the  apparatus  which  lies  between  and  includes  the  collars 
is  carefully  wrapped  with  eight  thicknesses  of  sterilized  cotton 
cloth.  The  action  of  the  Darnall  filter  depends:  (1)  Upon 
alum  mechanically  entangling  and  precipitating  the  impuri- 
ties, including  the  bacteria,  in  the  water;  and  (2)  Upon  that 
precipitate  being  held  back  by  the  filtering  cloth  through 
which  the  treated  water  strains.  Any  excess  of  alum  in  the 
water  is  neutralized  by  sodium  bicarbonate  contained  in  the 
precipitating  powder.  The  tank  having  been  nearly  filled 
with  water  previously  charged  with  the  precipitating  powder, 
the  filtering  apparatus  is  suspended  within  it  and  when  the 
siphon  has  been  set  in  action  by  a  small  pump,  the  treated 
water  will  escape  at  the  rate  at  first  of  2  gallons  a  minute. 
This  rapidly  decreases  as  the  cloth  becomes  clogged,  so  that 
the  ordinary  output  is  25  gallons  an  hour.  The  cleaner  the 
cloth,  the  more  rapid  the  flow.  Clear  water  passes  at  the 
rate  of  50  gallons  hourly.  It  is  believed  that  this  process 
eliminates  98  per  cent,  of  the  bacteria.  Crated,  this  filter 

*  Devised  by  Major  C.  R.  Darnall,  Medical  Corps,  U.  S.  Army. 


280  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

weighs  52  pounds.  In  emergency  and  for  detachment  use 
it  may  be  subdivided  and  reduced  to  18  pounds  (exclusive 
of  the  powder),  and  the  parts  may  be  distributed  for  trans- 
portation among  several  men.  It  would  appear  that  the 
whole  apparatus  might  be  carried  on  a  pack-saddle,  although 
this  does  not  seem  contemplated  in  the  instructions  for  its 
management.  To  operate  the  filter  requires  two  trained 
men  and,  as  with  other  efficient  purifiers  of  water,  such 
service  more  than  compensates  for  their  absence  from  the 
firing  line. 

At  this  writing  the  British  army  in  the  field  depends  on 
first  straining  out  or  clarifying  the  water  by  "  coarse  sponge 
British  field  closely  packed  under  pressure  in  a  chamber, 
filter  while  the  filter  itself  is  a  tube  of  specially  pre- 

pared hard  clay  having  a  central  tube  of  perforated  zinc."  * 
This  apparatus  is  variously  arranged  in  batteries  for  trans- 
portation on  wheels,  on  pack-saddles,  or  by  coolies.  The 
final  principle  is  the  same,  but  the  actual  working  appears 
to  be  more  successful  than  that  of  the  Berkefeld  filter.  It 
requires  so  much  care  in  its  operation,  that  it  is  not  intrusted 
to  regimental  troops;  so  that,  except  to  illustrate  the  principle, 
it  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  work.  It  would  appear,  however, 
that  men  of  the  line,  or  at  least  of  a  competent  service  corps, 
might  be  charged  with  its  manipulation  in  our  army. 

The  latest  device  used  on  an  extensive  scale  in  the  field  is 
the  Japanese  "Ishiji"  filter,  which  consists  of  an  inverted 

.....  canvas  cone  that  has  two  funnels  which  open  a 
few  inches  from  the  apex.  These  funnels,  tightly 
filled  with  compressed  sponge  and  granulated  charcoal,  are  the 
filtering  agents,  and  of  course  their  contents  must  be  frequently 
renewed.  The  mouths  of  these  funnels  are  tied  until  the  water 
in  the  large  cone  has  been  treated  by  chemicals,  after  which 
they  are  opened  and  it  escapes  through  them.  According  to 
Firth,  to  twenty-five,  gallons  of  water  are  added  four  ounces 
of  a  mixture  of  potassium  permanganate,  potash  alum,  and 

*  Notter  and  Firth,  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  925. 


WATER  281 

kaolin,  and  two  ounces  of  a  mixture  of  kaolin,  aluminium  chlo- 
ride, carbon,  and  a  little  vegetable  extract.  Stirred  together 
in  the  water  these  remove  its  turbidity  by  precipitation  and 
destroy  90  per  cent,  of  the  bacteria.  The  proper  proportion 
of  the  powders  to  the  water  can  only  be  determined  for  each 
quality  of  water  by  experiment,  the  measure  being  the  amount 
required  to  redden  it.  Ten  minutes  after  the  color  has  grad- 
ually disappeared,  the  water  may  be  used.  The  25-gallon 
cone  may  be  emptied  twice  an  hour,  but  manifestly  there  will 
be  risk  if  the  filtering  sponge  and  charcoal  are  not  frequently 
replaced. 

The  sterilization  of  the  water  by  heat  without  transforming 
it  into  steam,  either  at  all  or  for  more  than  an  instant  of  time, 
is  effected  when  its  temperature  touches  the  boil-  sterilization 
ing  point  or  is  maintained  at  180°  F.  for  fifteen  by  beat 
seconds.  Either  condition  destroys  the  hurtful  bacteria. 
Several  machines  have  been  devised  for  this  purpose,  of  which 
the  Forbes-Waterhouse  apparatus,  formerly  supplied  the 
army,  is  a  type.  This  has  been  replaced  by  the  improved 
and  lighter  Forbes  sterilizer.  After  the  incoming  Forbes 
water  has  been  raised  to  the  required  point  by  a  sterilizer 
flame,  it  parts  with  much  of  that  heat  by  conduction  to  an 
equal  volume  of  freshly  admitted  water,  separated  from  the 
heated  water  by  a  thin  metallic  diaphragm.  The  economy 
as  well  as  the  efficiency  of  its  operation  depends  upon  the 
conservation  of  that  force.  At  the  very  time  that  the  in- 
coming water  receives  the  heat  from  the  water  previously 
introduced,  the  latter  is  cooled  in  the  same  degree.  The  new 
water  therefore  requires  less  additional  heat  to  raise  it  to  the 
standard  of  sterilization,  and  the  water  already  sterilized  is 
more  easily  reduced  to  a  potable  temperature.  When  fur- 
nished as  a  stationary  apparatus  it  has  an  excellent  reputation 
for  the  service  of  office  buildings,  schools,  and  factories;  and 
it  should  be  available  for  barracks  where  there  is  no  adequate 
supply  of  unimpeachable  water,  provided  the  deposit  of  salts 
where  hard  water  is  used  does  not  choke  the  tubes.  For  field 


282  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

use  the  large  Forbes  sterilizer,  which  has  a  nominal  capacity 
of  148  gallons  but  has  developed  on  an  official  test  nearly 
400  gallons  an  hour,  is  mounted  on  stout  running  gear,  and 
drawn  by  four  horses  could  probably  pass  wherever  a  limbered 
field  piece  would  go.  Over  heavy  grades  or  across  country 
six  horses  would  be  required  for  draught.  It  is  not  designed 
to  carry  the  raw  water,  which  must  be  supplied  to  it  from  with- 
out, and  its  weight  with  the  necessary  fuel  and  a  driver  of 
150  pounds  would  be  4,175  pounds.  Should  it  carry  a  full 
charge  of  sterilized  water,  as  a  reserve  for  issue  at  a  halt  where 
there  might  be  none  to  be  acted  upon,  the  weight  would  be 
1,200  pounds  more.  A  smaller  apparatus  in  a  steel  field  case 
is  furnished  for  transportation  in  an  army  wagon.  With  the 
case  this  weighs  96  pounds,  and  it  has  a  nominal  hourly  ca- 
pacity of  25  gallons,  which  is  exceeded  in  the  factory  test.  It 
carries  one  gallon  of  oil,  which  should  sterilize  300  gallons  of 
water.  The  container  of  a  third  field  type  is  barrel-form,  one 
barrel  being  nested  within  another  for  carriage.  In  operation 
the  larger  barrel  holds  49  gallons  of  raw  water,  and  the  smaller 
one  22  gallons  of  sterilized  water  as  prepared  by  the  appara- 
tus. Packed  for  the  road  this  weighs  134  pounds.  A  wood- 
burning  attachment,  10  by  10  inches  in  size,  weighing  42 
pounds,  is  also  supplied.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  Forbes 
has  been  prepared  for  carriage  on  a  pack-saddle  or  by  a  bearer. 
The  radical  objection  to  all  water-purifying  machines  in- 
tended to  accompany  troops,  is  the  number  an  active  corn- 
Objections  to  mand  would  need  and  their  liability  to  be  deranged 
field  filters  or  not  to  be  present  when  most  needed.  Generals 
or  sterilizers  an(j  quartermasters  alike  are  justly  jealous  of 
increased  trains,  especially  when  they  are  expected  directly 
to  accompany  brigades  and  divisions.  Presumed  exigencies 
often  make  it  difficult  for  even  the  ambulances  to  hold  their 
position  in  the  column.  When  units  are  subdivided,  as 
detached  service  so  often  compels,  sterilizers,  unless  in  super- 
abundant reserve,  cannot  accompany  every  subdivision.  In 
all  cross-country,  jungle,  or  mountain  service,  the  problem 


WATER  283 

of  such  supply  grows.     In  an  effort   to  overcome  some  of 
these  difficulties  of  weight  and  immobility,  it  is  understood 
that  the  Forbes  company  may  attempt  the  manu-    lighter 
facture  of  a  sterilizing  apparatus  embracing  the    Forbes 
same  principles  as  the  large  sterilizer,  but  adapted    sterilizer 
to  a  two-wheeled  limber  with  standard  army  wheels  and 
axles.     This  would  be  capable  of  sterilizing  from  400  to  500 
gallons  an  hour,  and  the  whole  apparatus  and  its  limber  should 
not  weigh  more  than  1,800  pounds  and  could  be  drawn  by  two 
mules  or,  in  emergency,  be  attached  to  a  gun-carriage.     With 
this  would  be  a  folding  water-proof  canvas  tank,  with  a  capac- 
ity of  from  1,000  to  2,000  gallons;  but  sterilized  water  would 
not  be  carried  on  this  limber.     Where  dry  camps  are  antici- 
pated independent  water-wagons  should  distribute  sterilized 
water  from  these  temporary  canvas  reservoirs. 

Notter  and  Firth  speak  very  highly  of  the  Griffith  sterilizer, 
which  also  depends  upon  the  action  of  heat.  This  is  an 
English  apparatus  which  yields  from  60  to  350  Griffith 
gallons  of  water  an  hour,  according  to  the  type,  sterilizer 
A  theoretical  doubt  arises  as  to  its  competence  under  all 
conditions  because,  as  described  by  Notter  and  Firth  (p.  929), 
of  the  dependence  placed  upon  an  automatic  "  valve  which 
controls  the  passage  of  the  water  from  the  heater  to  the 
cooler."  Speaking  generally,  however  well  such  contrivances 
operate  in  fixed  camps,  they  are  liable  to  frequent  derange- 
ment under  the  conditions  of  the  field  and  occasionally  when 
they  are  stationary.  Although  lighter  than  the  original 
Forbes  and  more  mobile  because  mounted  on  a  two-wheeled 
running  gear,  the  Griffith  sterilizer  also  seems  open  to  the 
serious  objection  of  being  unable  to  maintain  close  connection 
with  moving  troops  when  most  required,  especially  with 
active  infantry  and  perhaps  with  raiding  cavalry  in  a  difficult 
country.  Where  pack  trains  replace  vehicles,  the  immediate 
need  would  be  for  a  pack-saddle  sterilizer.  This  has  not  yet 
been  devised,  notwithstanding  the  English  seem  to  have  a 
filter  which  may  be  so  carried. 


284  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

If  sterilizers  or  complicated  filters  are  to  be  used,  their 
efficiency  must  be  maintained  through  manipulation  by  men 
Care  of  from  a  Service  Corps,  or  by  permanent  regimental 
sterilizers  details.  The  latter  weaken  the  firing  line  and 
diminish  the  number  of  men  under  arms;  but  unless  such 
details  are  carefully  selected  and  have  a  degree  of  permanence, 
the  apparatus  runs  great  risk  of  damage.  Nevertheless,  the 
need  for  pure  water  is  paramount  over  most  other  require- 
ments, and  it  is  better  for  a  few  good  men  to  be  out  of  ranks 
upon  this  duty  than  for  many  to  be  on  sick  report.  A  steril- 
izer deserves  as  careful  and  intelligent  inspection  as  a  machine 
gun,  and  it  is  best  kept  in  working  order  by  appeal  to  the  pride 
and  rivalry  which,  with  discipline,  keep  other  military  instru- 
ments in  an  effective  state.  If  the  responsible  officers  ignore 
it  as  beneath  their  dignity,  it  will  certainly  be  damaged  by 
the  men's  neglect;  and  the  ultimate  penalty  will  be  paid 
through  an  increased  sick  list  when  emergency  arises. 

In  its  final  analysis  the  desire  for  water  is  a  physiological 
demand,  difficult  to  regulate  and  impossible  to  set  aside. 
True  thirst  represents  an  essential  want  of  the 
system,  to  alleviate  which  water  is  a  necessity,  not 
a  mere  gratification.  Water,  especially  under  exertion,  is 
constantly  evacuated  by  every  channel.  It  escapes  from  the 
blood  through  the  perspiratory  glands  and  the  kidneys, 
sometimes  from  the  bowels,  and  in  extreme  cases  even  the 
lymphatic  fluid,  which  maintains  the  moisture  and  flexibility 
of  the  muscles,  is  diminished.  This  must  be  replaced,  and  if 
good  water  is  not  at  hand  any  water  will  be  drunk.  It  is  here 
that  discipline  asserts  itself  and  here  the  resources  of  officers 

Boilin  for  anc*  men  are  ^es^  ca^e<^  ^n  plav-  An  admirable 
self-pro-  illustration,  which  may  always  repeat  itself  in  con- 
tection  in  taminated  regions,  occurred  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Philippine  pacification,  when  a  mixed  command  of  a 
regular  battery  and  a  battalion  of  volunteer  infantry  made  a 
ten  days'  reconnoissance,  with  orders  to  drink  no  water  not 
freshly  boiled.  The  regulars  were  held  to  the  requirements 


WATER  285 

as  a  matter  of  course  and  returned  with  no  sick.  The  volun- 
teers followed  their  own  judgment,  on  the  assumption  that 
they  could  recognize  good  water  when  they  saw  it,  and  were 
ravaged  with  dysentery.  It  is  by  no  means  true  that  every 
well  is  contaminated  or  that  all  running  water  even  in  inhabited 
regions  is  dangerous ;  but  like  other  training  it  is  better  that 
the  men  should  learn  to  boil  their  drinking-water  as  a  matter 
of  routine,  so  that  the  operation  may  be  conducted  intelli- 
gently and  almost  automatically  when  in  the  field.  A  great 
value  of  weak  tea  or  coffee  as  an  habitual  beverage  in  the 
field  is  the  assurance  that  it  is  sterile.  When  sterilizing 
tanks  are  available  for  the  general  supply,  well  and  good. 
But  because  they  cannot  be  depended  upon,  the  men  should 
carry  on  the  person  boiled  water  with  or  without  such  flavor- 
ing. When  a  canteen  is  devised  in  which  water  may  safely 
be  heated  to  the  sterilizing  point  and  be  con-  Canteen 
veniently  cooled,  it  will  be  a  long  step  forward  in  sterilizer 
the  prevention  of  water-borne  disease.  For  ease  of  trans- 
portation and  vigor  of  combustion,  denatured  alcohol  would 
appear  to  be  a  serviceable  personal  fuel  for  this  use.  Urider 
the  stress  of  conflict  this  care  of  health  yields  to  more  urgent 
duty.  But  those  occasions  of  direct  fighting  are  exceptional; 
it  is  the  march  and  the  bivouac  that  are  the  more  constant 
dangers,  and  Port  Arthur  demonstrated  that  sanitary  water 
can  be  furnished  a  great  besieging  army. 

In  the  field  the  water-supply,  whether  it  is  to  be  purified  or 
not,  should  be  guarded  and  if  the  quantity  is  small  it  is  to  be 
carefully  conserved.  The  very  first  duty  even  at  Care  of  field 
a  temporary  camp  is  to  post  sentinels  over  the  supply 
water.  These  are  always  to  check  wasteland  when  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  unwholesome,  to  prevent  any  being  taken  for 
drinking  purposes  except  by  authorized  persons  for  sterliza- 
tion.  The  margin  of  a  stream  is  quickly  trampled  into  mud 
and  the  water  roiled  and  made  turbid,  unless  an  artificial 
border  of  wood  or  stone  is  promptly  laid.  A  water-supply  is 
so  easily  spoiled  that  an  officer  should  be  in  immediate  charge 


286  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

of  the  whole,  where  it  is  at  all  limited  as  compared  with  the 
demand  upon  it.  All  unprotected  wells  and  springs  should 
Wells  and  be  banked  at  the  mouth  against  drainage  into 
springs  them  and  against  waste.  When  a  small  spring  is 
moderately  dug  out  and  encased,  or  a  headless  barrel  sunk  in 
it,  the  visible  supply  is  much  increased.  Detachments  using 
a  small  stream  should  be  careful  that  the  supply  for  the  animals 
and  for  police  purposes  is  taken  out  in  that  order  below  the 
drinking-water  station.  If  the  stream  is  shallow,  temporary 
dams  to  create  small  reservoirs  should  be  made.  Horses 
drink  better  and  more  rapidly  where  the  water  is  at  least  five 
or  six  inches  deep,  which  can  easily  be  arranged.  The  quantity 
To  measure  °f  flowing  water  available  during  a  given  time 
flowing  may  be  roughly  estimated  by  first  measuring  the 
water  speed  in  inches  with  which  it  carries  a  light  object 

per  minute  and  multiplying  that  by  the  mean  depth  in 
inches.  If  this  product  is  multiplied  by  the  width  of  the 
stream  in  inches  and  divided  by  231,  the  quotient  is  the 
number  of  United  States  gallons  that  passes  a  given  line 
per  minute.  Where,  in  a  camp  of  any  permanence,  the 
command  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  water-supply,  it  is 
To  save  expedient  to  save  the  water  which  passes  at 
water  at  night  and  otherwise  would  be  lost.  To  do 
mght  that,  make  reservoirs  from  which  to  draw  the 

drinking-  and  cooking-water.  Then  extend  a  single  or  double 
row  of  sunken  half-barrels,  all  connected  by  little  gutters  to 
avoid  waste,  for  the  animals,  and  conduct  the  surplus  into 
a  still  lower  reservoir.  On  the  march  a  man  requires  for  drink- 
ing and  cooking  six  pints  a  day,  increased  in  hot  climates  to 
Quantity  eight,  and  an  equal  amount  for  washing  the  person, 
per  capita  ln  stationary  camps  he  needs  5  gallons  for  all 
purposes.  In  barracks  for  all  purposes  except  water-closets 
and  bathrooms  the  allowance  should  be  10  gallons  a  head, 
and  with  those  conveniences  25  gallons.  Hospitals  require 
several  times  as  much  per  man,  depending  on  the  character 
of  the  cases.  A  horse  ordinarily  drinks  at  one  time  about 


WATER  287 

1J  gallons  in  about  three  minutes,  and  each  gulp  represents 

about  3  ounces  or  a  little  less  than  a  fifth   of  a  pint.     If 

allowed  all  they  will  drink,  horses  will  require  from    ^ 

6  to  10  gallons  of  water  a  day  and  about  3  gallons 

per  head  for  police  purposes.     All  the  foregoing  figures  are 

the  lowest. 

The  importance  of  not  defiling  any  water  is  so  nearly  self- 
evident  that  it  is  almost  incredible  that  in  1861  an  essay 
circulated  by  one  of  the  great  commissions  organized  for  the 
benefit  of  volunteers,  advised  placing  latrines  over  running 
water  when  possible.  Fortunately  this  was  corrected  in  the 
next  edition,  and  it  is  cited  only  to  show  that  the  importance 
of  guarding  all  water  is  sometimes  strangely  overlooked. 
Munson  reports  that  that  very  error  was  committed  by  raw 
troops  in  the  Spanish  War.  No  apology  is  made  for  repeating 
from  The  Reference  Handbook  of  the  Medical  Sciences,  1886 
(1st  ed.,  iii,  p.  756),  this  injunction:  "  Nothing  is  better  estab- 
lished than  that  no  refuse,  and  especially  no  faecal  matter, 
should  be  discharged  so  as  to  follow  a  stream  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  unless  it  be  one  of  the  great  rivers  Pollution  of 
and  then  only  when  it  is  certain  that  the  water  is  streams 
to  be  used  by  no  one  within  a  reasonable  distance.  It  is 
suicidal  to  pollute  small  streams  that  may  possibly  supply 
our  own  forces,  then  or  later,  and  it  is  criminal  to  spread 
diseases  in  that  way  among  a  civil  population,  or  ...  to  an 
enemy." 

Snow  is  more  impure  than  rain  in  the  same  region.     It 
takes  up  foreign  substances  freely  from  the  air  through  which 

it  passes,  and  absorbs  them  from  the  soil  on  which  a 

.,    r  .  .  .,    Snow  and  ice 

it  lies  or  when  they  nave  been  thrown  upon  it. 

Snow-water,  especially  in  densely  inhabited  regions,  equally 
with  other  doubtful  water  should  be  sterilized  before  con- 
sumption. Water  is  partly  purified  by  freezing,  but  so  im- 
perfectly as  to  require  the  sources  of  ice-supply  for  domestic 
use  to  be  carefully  selected  and  guarded.  Clear  ice,  even  from 
polluted  water,  may  contain  but  a  small  proportion  of  hurtful 


288  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

matter,  because  during  the  comparatively  slow  process  of 
natural  freezing  the  impurities  gradually  gravitate  below  the 
ice-sheet.  But  snow-ice  and  that  made  by  flooding  ice-fields 
may  be  very  impure.  As  bacteria  make  their  way  to  air- 
bubbles,  "bubbly"  ice  is  particularly  dangerous  as  compared 
with  the  solid  blocks,  and  where  thin  sheets  are  artificially 
combined,  those  which  had  been  superficial  are  apt  to  be  con- 
taminated. Vicious,  as  well  as  beneficent,  bacteria  easily 
survive  a  freezing  temperature  for  the  time,  but  Sedgwick 
and  Winslow  have  shown  that  they  gradually  succumb  to 
prolonged  storage  in  an  ice-house,  that  is  to  severe  long- 
continued  cold.  It  may  therefore  be  assumed,  as  Professor 
Godfrey  has  pointed  out,  that,  with  the  exterior  layers  care- 
fully eliminated,  well-stored  ice  is  reasonably  safe;  but  on  the 
other  hand  good  ice  may  become  superficially  contaminated 
by  exposure  to  filth  and  aerial  dirt  and  by  unclean  handling 
while  in  transit  to  the  consumer.  That  ice  is  artificial,  unless 
made  from  freshly  distilled  water,  is  no  evidence  of  its  ster- 
ility. It  may  be  more  impure  than  natural  ice  from  the 
same  water.  In  view  of  these  constant  risks,  it  is  always 
better  not  to  place  ice  in  direct  contact  with  food  or  drink. 


XXVIII 

WATER    AS    A    DISEASE-BEARER 

Several  grave  diseases  which  at  times  ravage  military  com- 
mands are  intimately  associated  with  water  as  a  cause-bearer, 
if  not  as  a  cause.  These  are  cholera,  typhoid  Water-borne 
fever,  and  a  variety  of  dysentery,  which  are  spread  diseases 
by  intestinal  discharges  from  infected  persons  and,  as  a  rule, 
gain  access  to  the  new  victims  through  food  and  drink.  Con- 
taminated drinking-water  is  not  the  sole  agent  of  propagation 
of  any  of  these;  but  it  is  the  most  common,  especially  in  epi- 
demic outbreaks.  Just  how  typhoidal  and  choleraic  dis- 
charges enter  any  drinking-water  may  not  be  demonstrable, 
nor  even  when  present  can  their  bacteria  always  be  isolated; 
but  it  is  certain  that  defiled  water  is  a  principal  agency  in  the 
spread  of  those  diseases.  Hence,  without  waiting  to  prove 
actual  contamination,  the  risk  of  that  possibility  -demands 
unceasing  vigilance  in  the  exclusion  of  all  waste  or  the  habitual 
and  complete  sterilization  of  any  suspected  supply.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  taste  or  appearance  of  water  thus  corrupted 
to  excite  suspicion,  and  as  both  typhoid  fever  and  cholera 
usually  begin  with  a  painless  diarrhoea  whose  import  the 
invalid  does  not  understand,  it  is  quite  possible  for  such  dis- 
charges to  drain  indiscriminately  and  unwittingly  into  any 
but  the  best-kept  water-supply,  so  that  epidemics  of  great 
magnitude  sometimes  arise  in  this  way.  A  well-authenticated 
example,  among  many  others,  is  one  where  the  pl 
discharges  from  a  single  case,  cast  upon  the  bank  pa.?  typhoid 
of  a  stream,  were  carried  by  melting  snow  into  epidemic 
the  water  which  supplied  the  reservoirs  of  a  town  rom  water 
of  8,000  inhabitants.  There  followed  an  epidemic  of  1,104 
cases  of  typhoid  fever  which -resulted  in  114  deaths  and  enor- 

289 


290  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

mous  loss  in  labor,  besides  the  expenditure  of  much  money 
and  the  infliction  of  great  anxiety  and  distress.  Those  citizens 
whose  water  came  from  other  sources  escaped.  Two  factories 
in  another  place  that  employed  many  hands  stood  side  by 
Cholera  epi-  side,  but  the  men  drank  from  two  distinct  wells, 
demic  from  One  of  these  wells  was  pure  and  the  other  was 
believed  to  be  infected.  Of  those  who  drank  from 
the  infected  well  600  died  of  cholera.  Among  those  who  used 
the  other  well  there  were  no  cases.  British  Indian  experience 
is  full  of  examples  where  regiments  drinking  infected  water 
were  ravaged  by  cholera,  while  those  who  used  clean  water 
escaped.  Drinking-water  known  to  be  specifically  contami- 
nated spreads  dysentery  freely,  and  a  severe  and  fatal  variety 
Dysentery  °f  dysentery  has  repeatedly  been  traced  to  impure 
and  impure  water  not  recognized  as  charged  with  dysenteric 
water  products  but  contaminated  with  faecal  impurities. 

On  the  other  hand  wide-spread  diarrhoeas  have  ceased  when 
the  general  water-supply  has  been  changed  to  one  that  is 
purer. 

Water  contaminated  with  animal  waste  is  not  necessarily 
disagreeable,  but  is  apt  to  be  sparkling  and  may  be  pleasant 
Sewage-  to  the  taste.  Although  one  would  not  willingly 
tainted  wells  drink  even  highly  diluted  sewage,  it  is  nevertheless 
a  fact  that  sewage-tainted  wells  may  not  induce  disease.  The 
risk  lies  in  the  liability  of  the  unrecognized  sewage  to  acquire 
a  specific  taint  without  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  water 
changing.  That  wells  occasionally  derive  a  part  of  their 
supply  from  neighboring  cesspools,  appears  from  authenticated 
instances  where  they  have  been  reduced  or  exhausted  when 
those  receptacles  were  abandoned.  And  as  water  containing 
the  product  of  such  waste  is  usually  clear  and  sometimes  more 
palatable  than  that  in  good  wells,  it  is  difficult  to  convince 
persons  accustomed  to  its  use  of  its  true  character  and,  par- 
ticularly, to  make  them  understand  how  leakage  may  enter 
over  long  and  unsuspected  routes.  Supplies  that  are  the  most 
dangerous  in  fact,  not  the  worst  in  appearance,  are  the  unsus- 


WATER  AS  A  DISEASE-BEARER  291 

pected;  for  had  they  been  suspected  their  use  would  not  be 
persisted  in.     The  following  examples  of  the  contamination 
of  water  from  a  distance  might  be  repeated  under  Distant  con- 
varying  conditions:  A  well  nearly  free  from  iron  tamination 
suddenly  began  to  yield  chalybeate  water  which  of  water 
deposited  an  ochreous  sediment.     It  proved  that  a  quantity 
of  spoiled  beer  had  been  poured  into  the  ground  115  feet  from 
the  well,  its  organic  matter  acted  as  a  reducing  agent  on  ferric 
oxide  normally  in  the  soil,  and  this  becoming  dissolved  as  a 
protocarbonate  entered  the  water  that  supplied  the  well. 
This  bore  the  coloring  matter  that  betrayed  its  presence,  but 
it  might  quite  as  well  have  been  colorless  but  infected  sewage. 
Gas  from  a  main  1000  feet  away  has  been  recognized  in  well- 
water.     The  typhoid  poison  has  been  conveyed  several  miles 
by  an  underground  and  previously  unsuspected  flow,  as  at 
Lausen  in  1872.     In  this  instance  a  hill  300  feet  high  stood  ' 
between  the  source  of  the  infection  and  the  scene  of  the  out- 
break.     The  determination  of   probable   sources  of   water- 
infection  is  one  of  the  functions  of  sanitary  officers;  but  a 
competent  knowledge  of  this  subject  should  also  be  part  of 
the  working  equipment  of  an  officer  of  the  line,  partly  that  he 
may  undertake  original  investigation  on  occasion,  but  chiefly 
that  he  may  appreciate  the  significance  of  this  form  of  advice. 
It  is  not  practicable,  as  is  popularly  supposed,  to  determine 
off-hand  or  indeed  without  elaborate  laboratory  processes, 
whether  or  not  a  particular  water-supply  is  in-  Detection  Of 
fected  by  the  commoner  pathogenetic  bacteria.  disease- 
Indeed  Notter  and  Firth  say,*  from  their  own  causes  in 
experience,  that  "the  qualitative  bacterial  method  wa  ei 
of  examination  of  a  water  is  about  a  thousand  times  more  deli- 
cate than  the  chemical  method."     In  practice  the  question 
in  relation  to  suspected  water  reduces  itself  to  one  of  proba- 
bilities, with  the  chances  in  favor  of  infection  by  the  typhoid 
bacillus  in  populous  countries;  with  no  prospect  of  cholera 
outside  of  the  cholera  range;  and  with  a  fair  certainty  of  the 

*  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  107. 


292  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

presence  of  both  the  specific  causes  of  the  two  conspicuous 
types  of  dysentery  in  tropical  and  subtropical  climates.  The 
lesson  of  avoidance  is  obvious.  These  disease-causes  are 
only  discernible  under  the  microscope  after  prolonged  and 
very  careful  preparation  and  may  not  be  extracted  for  obser- 
vation by  nitration,  nor  do  they  respond  to  chemical  tests. 
But  there  are  chemical  tests  by  which  sewage  may  be  inferred, 
such  as  determining  the  presence  of  chlorides,  of  nitrates,  of 
nitrites;  and  if  sewage  is  there,  it  may  carry  bacteria.  Should 
Suspected  a  suspected  well  materially  differ  chemically  from 
wells  neighboring  wells,  it  is  probably  infected;  in  which 

case  the  chemical  condition  is  a  sign,  not  a  cause.  Should  a 
chain  of  wells  agree  in  their  variation  from  the  presumed 
norm,  special  investigation  should  be  made  for  the  channel 
of  communication.  The  simplest  process  is  to  introduce  into 
the  cesspool  or  other  suspected  premises  a  quantity  of  salt 
or  strong  brine  and  later  to  observe  what  change,  if  any,  there 
is  in  the  observed  chlorides  in  the  well.  If  these  have  in- 
creased, the  inference  is  obvious  that  some  of  the  contents  of 
the  vault  also  enter  the  well  in  solution.  A  more  delicate  test 
than  salt  is  lithia,  which  is  foreign  to  ordinary  soils.  Chlorides 
in  excess  ordinarily  imply  their  derivation  froni  urine,  and 
Significance  nitrates  and  nitrites  indicate  organic  decomposi- 
of  chemical  tion,  in  this  case  presumably  of  sewage.  The 
evidence  nitrites  would  mean  that  the  organic  waste  has 
been  incompletely  oxidized  and  that  the  process  is  still 
in  operation.  (These  might  be  derived  from  a  perfectly 
innocent  source,  but  that  should  be  established  before  it  is 
admitted.)  By  themselves,  like  CO2  in  the  atmosphere,  these 
nitrogen  compounds  are  harmless  unless  they  are  in  enormous 
quantities.  But  they  are  an  index  of  possible  accompanying 
evil  and  may  explain  the  occurrence  of  typhoid  fever,  cholera, 
sometimes  dysentery,  if  either  has  attacked  the  water-con- 
sumers, because  the  sewage  that  they  should  show  to  be 
present  will  then  be  charged  with  one  or  the  other  of  those 
intestinal  poisons.  The  ordinary  rural  well  sometimes  is 


WATER  AS  A  DISEASE-BEARER  293 

poisoned  by  infection  making  its  way  through  the  soil,  espe- 
cially along  rifts  below  and  in  the  surface ;  but  it  is  more  apt 
to  become  infected,  as  Sedgwick  claims,  from  the  Domestic 
top.  Poorly  curbed  or  loosely  covered  wells  may  wells 
be  polluted  in  numerous  ways,  the  opportunities  multiplying 
with  the  density  of  the  population  and  the  age  of  the  settle- 
ment. But  until  specifically  infected,  specific  diseases  will 
not  be  due  to  the  well.  The  military  application  here  is  to 
remote  posts  and  to  the  camps  and  marches  of  real  and  mimic 
war. '  It  is  manifestly  unwise  to  assume  that  infected  dejecta 
discharged  upon  or  buried  in  the  ground  will  certainly  be 
neutralized  before  they  reach  a  neighboring  well,  particularly 
if  the  soil  be  light  or  sandy,  the  more  as  it  is  impossible  to 
determine  that  no  rift  allows  direct  communication  with  the 
water.  Nevertheless  the  best  authorities  look  upon  the 
chance  of  such  indirect  infection  as  very  small.  Still  Vaughan 
has  discovered  organic  matter  in  the  soil  on  nearly  level 
ground  50  feet  from  a  privy-vault  and  apparently  derived 
from  it;  as  comparison  with  similar  soil  where  there  were  no 
known  sources  of  contamination  seemed  to  show.  And  such 
vagrant  material  might  be  infected.  The  typhoid  cause  may 
persist  in  unfiltered  water  for  thirty  days,  but  it  Longevity  of 
usually  perishes  very  much  sooner.  The  cholera  germs  in 
cause  has  a  relatively  short  life  in  water,  except  water 
as  it  is  reinforced  from  without.  In  the  presence  of  sapro- 
phytes (bacteria  living  upon  dead  matter),  disease-producing 
bacteria  usually  disappear  quickly  from  contaminated  water; 
and  where  a  sand  filter  is  used  the  specific  organisms  are 
eliminated  by  becoming  entangled  in  the  "bacterial  jelly." 
In  most  cases  of  water  infection,  however,  the  cause  is  a  con- 
tinuing one,  depending  upon  the  incessant  addition  of  new 
material,  and  the  proper  policy  is  to  seek  and  remove  the 
cause  rather  than  to  attempt  to  neutralize  the  consequence. 
Uncontaminated  water  is  one  of  the  foundations  of  health. 

Besides  these  microscopic  forms  of   lowly  vegetable  and 
animal  life,  intimately  associated  with  the  water  we  drink 


294  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  powerful  to  develop  defined  disease  each  after  its  kind, 
water  may  hold  in  solution  or  suspension  other  foreign  matter, 
Organic  and  inorganic  or  organic.  The  minerals  usually  appear 
inorganic  in  natural  solutions,  as  the  salt  of  the  sea  and 
contents  ^Q  ingredients  of  springs  therapeutic  or  hurtful 
as  the  case  may  be.  Distillation  is  the  most  summary  and 
radical  form  of  relief,  if  such  water  must  be  used  in  emergency. 
The  organic  contents  are  impurities  introduced  by  accident, 
as  sewage,  already  discussed,  and  other  forms  of  waste  or  even 
of  decomposition,  as  the  soakage  of  graveyards  and  of  vege- 
table decay.  Disease  thus  set  up  is  chiefly  the  consequence  of 
irritation,  occasionally  of  poisoning  by  ptomaines;  and  against 
all  organic  life  sterilization  by  heat  is  most  effective.  But 
even  boiling,  while  it  destroys  the  bacterial  life  with  which 
decaying  matter  teems,  will  not  redeem  decomposition.  The 
presence,  not  the  amount,  of  organic  matter  in  water  may  be 
Detection  of  roughly  determined  thus :  Half  fill  a  quart  bottle 
organic  with  water  warmed  to  70°-80°  F. ;  shake  it  vigor- 
waste  in  ously,  and  if  a  bad  odor  is  detected  it  is  doubtful 
or  bad.  But  not  all  bad  waters  give  out  odors, 
and  the  natural  sulphur  waters  are  offensive  without  being 
harmful.  Therefore  evaporate  3  or  4  ounces  to  perfect  dry- 
ness  in  a  platinum  or  porcelain  capsule,  and  then  ignite  the 
dish.  If  there  is  no  blackening  or  only  an  easily  dissipated 
darkening  of  the  residue,  the  water  is  probably  good.  If  the 
crust  blackens,  there  is  probably  carbon  from  an  excess  of 
vegetation.  If  nitrous  fumes  are  evolved  and  the  carbon 
sparkles  with  energy,  animal  matter  may  be  suspected.  Or 
the  permanganate  test  may  be  used.  The  permanganate 
salts  are  rich  in  oxygen  that  is  easily  given  up.  Potassium 
permanganate  added  by  degrees  until  its  oxygen  is  absorbed, 
colors  the  water  to  a  rich  pink  or  red.  From  the  amount 
required  to  tinge  the  water  permanently,  an  estimate  may  be 
made  of  the  quantity,  but  not  of  the  kind,  of  organic  matter. 
This  test  applies  equally  to  beef  soup  and  street  filth.  Such 
tests  are  not  expected  to  be  made  by  company  officers  where 


WATER  AS  A  DISEASE-BEARER  295 

the  Medical  Corps  is  present.  But  they  are  very  simple,  and 
for  their  own  assurance  when  they  may  be  absent  on  explor- 
ing or  other  duty  without  an  attached  medical  officer,  sub- 
alterns of  the  line  may  well  rehearse  them  in  garrison  under 
the  guidance  of  an  expert. 

But  in  view  of  the  inconceivable  amount  of  organic  dis- 
integration perpetually  in  progress  in  the  soil,  why  is  not  all 
water  a  mere  vehicle  to  carry  this  waste,  becoming  Disposal  of 
more  and  more  saturated  with  the  lapse  of  time?  organic 
Because  the  free  oxygen  in  the  soil-air  and  in  the  waste 
water  allows  unrestrained  oxidation,  and  because  certain 
minute  organisms,  generally  associated  with  mineral  matter 
and  known  as  the  bacteria  of  nitrification,  decompose  the 
waste  and  set  free  ammonia.  Should  the  albuminoid  ammonia 
(which  is  chiefly  derived  from  decomposing  vegetation)  ex- 
ceed 0.01  per  100,000,  or  free  ammonia  (obtained  from  urea 
or  other  easily  decomposable  animal  substances  in  solution) 
exceed  0.005,  the  water  should  not  be  used.*  From  this  am- 
monia, first  nitric  acid  and  subsequently  nitrites  and  nitrates 
are  formed.  These  nitrogen  compounds  indicate  that  animal 
waste  has  been  present.  The  nitrites  mean  that  complete 
oxidation  has  not  yet  occurred  and  that  danger  significance 
may  be  present.  The  nitrates  show  that  the  of  nitrites 
power  for  evil  has  gone.  Their  proportion  is  and  nitrates 
an  index  of  the  amount  of  waste  thus  neutralized.  But 
more  may  follow  too  rapidly  for  the  soil  to  dispose  of,  or 
it  may  already  be  present  in  excess.  Such  indications  of 
former  disintegration,  if  not  of  earlier  danger,  should  lead  to 
the  suspicion  of  present  danger;  for  concentrated  waste,  for 
example  in  the  shape  of  sewage,  constantly  discharged  upon 
a  limited  area  must  ultimately  overcome  local  regenerating 
influences.  The  nitrates  should  not  exceed  0.35  per  100,000. 

The  sanitary  disposal  of  sewage  upon  the  land  is  important, 

*  Chemical  analyses  would  not  be  undertaken  by  line  officers,  but 
these  limits  are  noted  as  a  standard  for  the  comprehension  and  com- 
parison of  analytic  reports  that  may  be  made. 


296  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

but  for  its  discussion  reference  should  be  made  to  special  trea- 
tises. It  is  always  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  when 
Sewage  on  poured  over  a  circumscribed  tract  its  consecutive 
land  distribution  through  successive  areas  is  essential. 

But  what  becomes  of  the  vast  quantity  of  sewage  as  well  as 
of  individual  body-waste  still  poured,  in  contravention  of 
sanitary  propriety,  into  running  streams,  often  those  which 
Sewage  in  sooner  or  later  furnish  drinking-water  for  commu- 
streams  nities?  It  is  commonly  said,  and  formerly  was 
seriously  taught,  that  streams  purify  themselves  automatically. 
That  is  an  error.  Dilution  has  much  to  do  with  the  apparent 
disappearance  of  sewage.  In  a  large  river  the  volume  of 
water  is  very  great  and  the  sewage  becomes  immensely  attenu- 
ated. The  constant  addition  of  practically  uncontaminated 
ground-water  steadily  increases  the  dilution  of  any  fixed 
quantity  of  sewage,  and  each  unpolluted  affluent  assists  in 
that  dilution.  On  the  other  hand  every  community  that 
intrudes  its  waste  into  the  water  disturbs  the  proportion  and 
increases  the  difficulty  of  the  problem.  But  even  specific 
organic  particles  do  disappear  in  some  way,  and  the  antic- 
ipated accumulation  of  deadly  poison  does  not  occur.  The 
Decrease  of  process  is  substantially  as  follows:  All  natural 
pollution  water  holds  in  solution  some  free  oxygen,  and  this 
plays  its  part  in  the  oxidation  of  the  waste.  Where  there  are 
rapids  probably  more  oxygen  is  entangled,  although,  contrary 
to  the  older  opinion,  it  is  now  believed  that  swiftly  running 
water  does  not  purify  itself  as  quickly  as  that  which  moves 
slowly  or  is  at  rest.  The  immersed  solid  matter  is  acted  upon 
by  the  bacteria  of  decomposition.  Literal  sedimentation  oc- 
curs in  proportion  as  the  water  is  quiet,  and  practical  sedimen- 
tation happens  when  the  suspended  silt  envelops  swimming 
particles  of  sewage.  Light  is  germicidal  and  affects  the  vicious 
bacteria  within  its  range,  and  those  that  are  drawn  to  the 
bottom  gradually  give  way  to  cold  and  imperfect  nourishment. 
Still  with  all  these  favoring  agents  Mason  believes  *  that  the 

*  Water  Supply,  1st  ed.,  p.  187. 


WATER  AS  A   DISEASE-BEARER  297 

percentage  of    pollution  in  a  running  stream  to  disappear 
continually  decreases  per  mile  of  flow,  and  Sedgwick*  lays 
down  the  rule  that  "no  river,  unless  from  an  absolutely  un- 
inhabited watershed,  is  to  be  regarded  as  suitable  for  direct 
use  as  a  public  water-supply."     The  military  moral  is  that 
permanent  garrisons  and  camps  for  a  night  on  the    Military 
bank  of  a  river,  alike,  may  not  trust  the  water  at    water- 
their  feet  until  it  has  been  rectified  through  sani-    ^PP1? 
tary  art.     The  water  of  a  lake  is  somewhat  different,  and  a 
small  community  may  use  such  a  quiet  reservoir  provided  no 
polluted  current  flows  toward  or  near  the  intake. 

*  Principles  of  Sanitary  Science,  1st  ed.,  p.  233. 


XXIX 

PREVENTABLE   DISEASES:    MALARIA   AND   YELLOW 
FEVER 

MALAKIA,  literally  meaning  bad  air,  has  gradually  come  to 
signify  a  disease  or  a  class  of  diseases.  It  is  recognized  that 
Mala  '  a  Parasi^c  micro-organism,  an  animalcule  known 

as  the  plasmodium  malarice,  is  its  cause.  These 
plasmodia  (for  each  of  the  several  varieties  of  the  disease  has 
its  own  parasite,  differing  in  intensity  of  effect)  have  not 
Plasmodium  yet  been  isolated  outside  of  living  bodies,  so  that 
malaria  their  absolute  origin  is  undetermined.  But  for 
practical  purposes  it  is  sufficient  to  understand  that  a  genus 
of  mosquitoes  known  as  anopheles  (or  the  anophelina)  acts  as 
an  intermediate  host  for  the  parasite,  which  completes  its 
development  in  the  red  corpuscles  of  the  human 
blood.  The  female  mosquito  while  feeding  upon 
the  blood  of  a  malarial  subject  takes  the  parasite  into  her  own 
body,  from  which,  after  further  development,  it  passes  into 
Mode  of  nian  by  way  of  the  salivary  glands  of  the  insect 
infection  when  the  new  subject  is  stung.  By  no  means  all 
the  anopheles  are  infected,  but  whenever  they  receive  the 
parasite  from  a  malarial  subject  they  become  agents  for  its 
spread.  A  man  must  harbor  the  plasmodium  before  he  suffers 
from  the  disease.  Hence  the  first  precaution  is  addressed  to 
Individual  the  individual.  He  is  to  protect  himself  from 
precautions  attack  by  the  careful  use  of  netting,  or  to  repel  the 
insect  by  constant  application  of  the  pungent  aromatic  oils, 
as  pennyroyal  or  eucalyptus,  to  exposed  parts  of  the  person. 
Aromatic  Such  application  is  domestic,  a  temporary  proce- 
oils  dure  impracticable  for  large  commands,  super- 

fluous in  any  case  where  the  first  is  scrupulously  carried  out, 

298 


MALARIA   AND    YELLOW  FEVER  299 

but  effective  within  its  conditions.  The  protection  of  the  head 
and  neck  by  a  net  while  actively  engaged  in  out-door  exer- 
cise is  perfectly  within  the  experience  of  sPorts-  Head  net 
men  in  the  North  Woods  and  Canada  and  of  the  L 
Japanese  in  their  Manchurian  campaign.  This  is  distinctly 
defensive  armor,  whose  use  must  be  enforced  in  the  presence 
of  that  enemy.  Collective  defence  is  the  systematic  screening 
of  habitations,  from  tents  to  barracks,  including  screening  of 
every  form  of  shelter  within  the  dangerous  regions,  persons 
The  mosquito  bar  is  a  mobile  guard  carried  with  the  command 
and,  as  now  arranged,  applicable  to  beds  in  barracks  and  to 
shelter  tents  alike.  When  intact  and  the  mosquito  itself  is 
not  also  enclosed,  it  is  a  perfect  protection.  Because  its  use 
is  sometimes  inconvenient  inexperienced  men  may  attempt 
to  evade  it,  which  is  a  matter  for  discipline.  The  offence 
usually  enforces  its  own  penalty  as  well.  The  least  damage  to 
a  mosquito  net,  like  a  leak  in  a  dam,  is  to  be  immediately 
repaired.  The  whole  of  permanent  barracks  and  quarters 
in  tropical  malarial  regions  should  be  systemati-  Screening  of 
cally  screened  by  rustless  wire.  In  the  older  buildings 
structures  this  is  most  effectually  done  by  constructing  within 
each  apartment  a  wire  cage  of  equal  capacity,  which  has  the 
further  advantage  of  excluding  flies.  New  buildings  may  be, 
and  in  fact  are,  arranged  so  that  communications  with  the 
outer  air  alone  are  screened.  In  each  case  mosquito  curtains 
for  the  beds  remain  a  necessary  precaution.  It  is  hopeless  to 
extend  such  protection  to  the  bamboo  huts  of  the  tropical 
natives,  whose  open-work  floors  are  a  part  of  the  scheme  of 
their  domestic  economy  for  the  disposal  of  sweepings.  Screens 
of  whatever  material  unquestionably  check  currents  of  air, 
and  on  that  account  are  trying  in  hot  and  humid  climates. 
Notwithstanding  the  strong  temptation  to  discard  them  with 
the  plea  for  better  air,  their  use  must  be  enforced  under  the 
penalty  of  probable  illness. 

Within  a  barrack  or  other  dwelling  individual  mosquitoes 
resting  on  the  ceiling  and  sometimes  those  upon  the  walls  may 


300  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

be  destroyed  by  cautiously  holding  under  them  a  small  vessel 
or  (as  the  top  of  a  can  on  a  light  pole)  containing  a 

little  household  ammonia,  mineral  oil,  or  spirits 
of  turpentine.  The  insect  is  stupefied  by  the  vapor  and 

falls  into  the  vessel.     Pyrethrum  (insect  powder) 

burned  at  the  rate  of  2  pounds  to  1000  cubic 
feet  will  clear  an  apartment  of  mosquitoes,  which  fall  inert 
to  be  destroyed  by  other  means.  In  the  Panama  Canal 
Campho-  Zone  equal  parts  by  weight  of  camphor  and  car- 
phenol,  bolic  acid  (campho-phenol)  vaporized  by  heat  is 
sulphur  j.ne  most  effective  insecticide.  The  very  dense  soot 
that  it  otherwise  deposits  requires  the  use  of  a  special  ap- 
paratus. Burning  sulphur  is  always  lethal,  but  as  it  decolor- 
izes some  fabrics  and  stifles  all  respiration  it  must  be  used 
with  caution.  Formaldehyde  has  a  disputed  reputation, 
Formalin  ^u^  Pr°bably  is  useful.  In  non-tropical  climates 

the  mosquito,  usually  the  impregnated  anopheles, 
hibernates,  awaiting  the  season  for  the  renewal  of  life. 
Giles,  quoted  by  Abbott,  "makes  the  valuable  suggestion 
Hibernation  ^at  during  the  hibernating  season  all  buildings 

likely  to  harbor  them  [particularly  the  eaves  of 
barns,  houses  and  out-buildings,  as  well  as  their  interiors] 
should  be  thoroughly  renovated,  lime-washed,  and  fumigated 
with  sulphur." 

It  is  insufficient  merely  to  kill  the  adult.  The  real  control 
of  this  disease-breeding  pest  requires  acquaintance  with  its 
life-history  and  an  industrious  application  of  that  knowledge  to 
simple  agencies.  All  varieties  of  mosquitoes  are  alike  in  cer- 
tain general  characteristics,  so  that  for  the  purposes  of  this 
work  it  is  useless  to  differentiate  between  species.  The  eggs 
are  hatched  in  still,  generally  stagnant,  water.  In  both  its 
Breeding  larval  and  its  pupal  stage  the  insect  must  breathe 
conditions  at  the  surface  of  the  pool.  If  there  is  no  standing 
water,  or  if  the  air  is  excluded,  there  will  be  no  mosquitoes. 
Hence  a  locality  may  be  protected  by  drainage  or  by  covering 
the  standing  water  with  an  air-proof  sheet  of  oil;  for  as  a  rule 


MALARIA   AND   YELLOW  FEVER  301 

mosquitoes  do  not  fly  far,  although  sometimes  they  are  blown 
considerable  distances.  It  is  true,  however,  that  adult  mos- 
quitoes may  be  transported  to  remote  points  in  boats  and 
railroad  trains.  The  practical  difficulty  in  their  Difficulty  of 
extermination  comes  from  the  rapidity  with  which  extermina- 
the  swarms  develop  and  the  surprisingly  small  tion 
quantity  of  water  any  particular  brood  requires.  Under 
favorable  conditions  a  batch  of  several  hundred  eggs  hatches 
within  a  few  hours,  the  mosquito  may  fly  within  ten  days, 
and  she  may  lay  her  own  eggs  three  days  afterward,  so  that  a 
fortnight  will  complete  the  cycle.  A  cupful  of  water,  th6 
quantity  that  lies  in  an  animal's  foot-print,  a  very  little  in  an 
otherwise  empty  can,  supplies  a  breeding-place.  The  warmer 
and  rainier  the  locality,  the  more  facile  the  multiplication. 
These  breeding-places  may  be  accidental  depressions  in  the 
earth,  bottles  or  cans  carelessly  exposed,  uncovered  rain- 
water receptacles,  gutters  out  of  level  at  the  eaves  or  on  the 
surface  of  the  ground,  any  recess  where  a  few  spoonfuls  of 
water  may  lie.  In  fixed  localities,  with  a  sufficient  working 
force  operating  under  the  systematic  application  of  military 
methods  whether  employed  by  soldiers  or  civilians,  the  propa- 
gation of  the  mosquito  may  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,  as  the 
remarkable  work  of  Ronald  Ross  and  Colonel  Gorgas  under 
most  unfavorable  natural  conditions  illustrates.  In  Gorgas's 
own  words,  "by  far  the  most  important  [measure  for  the 
extinction  of  mosquitoes]  is  that  of  destroying  the  breeding- 
places,  and  this  is  successfully  done  by  surface  and  subsoil 
drainage."  But  transient  camps  and  moving  columns  must 
rely  upon  exclusion  more  than  upon  extinction. 

After  all,  the  mosquito  is  simply  a  transferring  agent  and 
the  malarial  subject,  not  always  a  patient,  is  the  distributing 
centre.     With  our  present  knowledge  it  appears  Malaria  from 
that,  if  all  malarial  cases  were  made  well  by  the  malarial 
destruction  of  the  parasite  within  the  body  through  cases 
the  use  of  quinine,  the  supply  of  the  infecting  material  would 
be  exhausted.     In  fact  as  it  stands  by  no  means  all  anopheles 


302  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

are  plasmodium  carriers,  for  they  are  found  over  large  areas 
free  from  this  taint  and  become  infected  as  they  draw  blood 
from  human  beings  already  sick.  This  presents  three  lessons: 
First,  that  every  soldier  whose  blood  contains  the  plasmodium 
Keep  mos-  must  not  only  be  retained  on  sick  report  until  it 
quitoes  from  is  free,  but  he  must  be  screened  from  access  by 
the  sick  mosquitoes  for  their  sake  rather  than  for  his.  Of 
course  this  refers  to  localities  where  the  anopheles  is  present. 
Secondly,  that  to  all  residents  within  the  malarial  range  should 
Destroy  systematically  be  administered  adequate  portions 
plasmodium  of  quinine,  which  arrests  the  development  of  the 
by  quinine  piasmodium  within  the  system.  It  would  be  theo- 
retically possible  to  abolish  the  disease  by  destroying  the 
parasite,  so  that  the  mosquito  would  be  deprived  of  this 
infection;  for  it  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  the 
natural  virus  of  that  insect  which  creates  the  disease,  but  the 
infected  poison  that  is  injected  along  with  it.  Thirdly, 

residents        tkat  jnfected  residents,   perhaps  themselves  not 

maintain 

malarial        very  sensitive  to  its  effects,  maintain  a  constant 

reserve  reserve  of  the  plasmodia  whence  others  may  become 
infected.  The  disease  has  been  introduced  into  previously 
exempt  communities  in  just  that  way.  Thus,  about  1865  it 
was  carried  by  infected  coolies  to  the  Island  of  Mauritius, 
Infection  of  hitherto  free  from  it,  and  practically  the  entire 
Mauritius  population  was  consecutively  attacked  by  the  dis- 
ease which  established  itself  there.  An  isolated  or  limited 
community,  like  that  of  an  island,  should  be  able  to  prevent 
its  spread  by  destroying  through  clinical  means  the  plasmodia 
in  the  blood.  Notwithstanding  the  dark-skinned  appear  to 
be  less  seriously  affected  than  the  white  races,  they  have  no 
Dark  races  real  immunity,  as  sometimes  supposed,  against  the 
not  immune  malarial  poison.  In  nearly  all  the  Filipino  scouts, 
even  when  apparently  well,  the  parasite  is  present,  and  the 
Filipinos  mosquito  readily  transfers  it  from  them  to  the  asso- 
agents  ciated  white  troops.  As  it  is  morally  impossible 

to  enforce  the  preventive  use  of  nets  among  them,  these  men 


MALARIA   AND    YELLOW  FEVER  303 

should   by  order   be   constantly  under  the  curative  or  the 
prophylactic  action  of  quinine  on  their  own  account  and  for 
the  sake  of  other  soldiers.     Malarial  attacks  increase  suscep- 
tibility and   lessen    the   power   of   resistance   to  increased 
subsequent  ones.     Thus  it  was  the  rule,  not  the  suscepti- 
exception,  that  officers  and  men  who  had  been  ^^^ 
wrecked  by  the  malaria  of  Cuba  in  1898  speedily  after  earlier 
broke   down  from  similar   causes  in  the   Philip-  attacks 
pines  in  1899.     It    would   be   good   routine  administration 
to  require  a  blood  examination  of  all  men  under  orders  for 
regions  known  to  be  seriously  malarious,  and  to  exclude  as 
suspects  all  whose  records  are  not  clear.     Little  Exclusion  of 
is  less  futile  than  to  fill  a  command  with  men  sure  malarial 
to  become  incapacitated,  unless  the  emergency  is  cases 
grave  enough  for  them  to  be  sacrificed  for  the  attainment 
of  an  immediate  end. 

Whether  the  mosquito  is  or  is  not  the  exclusive  agent  of 
infection,  or  whatever  may  ultimately  be  discovered  as  the 
primitive    habitat  of   the  plasmodium  and  con-  Mosquito 
cerning  its  life  in  the  absence  of  its  human  host,  theory 
the  common  and  effective  agency  of  the  anopheles  in  distrib- 
uting the  disease  has  been  conclusively  demonstrated.     It  is 
a  fair  generalization  that  where  there  are  no  mosquitoes  there 
will  be  no  malaria.     Besides  the  logical  and  physical  proofs, 
long-recognized  but  previously  uncorrelated  facts  are  satisfied 
by  this  theory.     Thus,  the  malarial  poison  appeared  to  be 
borne  for  limited  distances  by  the  wind,  to  lie  comparatively 
near  the  ground,  to  be  stopped  by  mechanical  barriers,  to  be 
associated  with  warmth  and  stagnant  water  and  to  be  in- 
hibited by  continuous  frost,  to  be  avoided  at  least  to  a  degree 
by  residence  in  an  upper  story,  to  be  most  effective  when  the 
exposed  person  was  ill-clad,  and  to  be  much  more  active  at 
night.     It  follows  that  if  explanation  and  advice 
are  not  heeded,  authority  must  interpose  to  en- 
force the  use  of  nets  as  a  guard  against  the  mosquito,  to  re- 
quire proper  medication,  and  to  punish  unnecessary  exposure. 


304  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

It  has  not  been  scientifically  demonstrated,  but  the  con- 
viction is  widely  spread  among  residents  of  the  tropics  that 

the  malarial  cause  has  its  primary  and  fertile  seat 
boil  tneory  . 

in  the  soil  and  that  it  may  be  taken  into  the  system 

with  unboiled  water.  Disturbance  of  the  earth  in  particular 
localities,  whether  for  agriculture  or  mining,  especially  in  the 
absence  of  direct  sunlight,  may  be  followed  by  outbreaks  of 
Dangerous  malignant  disease,  and  to  tarry  even  over  night 
localities  near  the  ground  in  such  districts,  notwithstanding 
the  protection  of  the  mosquito  bar,  is  regarded  as  a  direct 
challenge  to  death.  This  traverses  the  doctrine  of  the  labora- 
tory, but  in  deference  to  it  as  the  apparent  dictum  of  experi- 
ence, which  it  is  seldom  wise  to  reject,  the  use  in  those  localities 

_  ..  ,  of   boiled   drinking-water,    preferably   as   tea   or 

Boiled  water  .  i    •»»<•»»• 

coffee,  is  commended.  Indeed  Harrington,  an  ex- 
cellent authority,  remarks  "it  is  regarded  as  not  impossible 
that  the  drinking  of  water  contaminated  by  [mosquitoes] 
.  .  .  may  have  a  part  in  the  dissemination"  of  malarial  fever. 
To  boil  the  water  would  devitalize  the  plasmodium.  If  there 
must  be  residence,  as  for  outposts,  there  should  be  broad 
slashings  and  thorough  destruction  of  the  immediate  jungles 
to  admit  sunlight,  and  minimum  disturbance  of  the  soil.  It 
is  self-evident  that  where  any  malarious  districts  must  be 
occupied  or  traversed,  troops  should  be  the  least  exposed  at 
those  hours  when  the  mosquitoes  are  most  active. 

Yellow  fever  is  a  disease  of  navigable  regions  in  hot  moist 
climates  that,  as  a  rule,  does  not  twice  attack  the  same  person. 
Yellow  Walter  Reed  brilliantly  demonstrated,  positively 
fever  and  negatively,  that  it  is  propagated,  and  propa- 

gated only  by  the  mosquito.     The  female  of  the  stegomyia, 
calopus  (formerly  fasciata)  is  the  intermediate  host  for  the 
specific  agent  of  this  disease,  as  the  anophelina  are 
for  the  malarial  cause.     The  exact  cause  is  yet 
undetermined,  for  it  is  ultra-microscopic  and  is  not  restrained 
by  the  porcelain  filter  which  stops  discernible  bacteria.     The 
stegomyia  is  essentially  a  domestic  mosquito  confining  itself 


MALARIA   AND    YELLOW   FEVER  305 

to  residences,  including  ships,  and  to  a  very  narrow  margin 
beyond,  and  not  flying  abroad  like  the  anopheles  and  culex. 
The  prevention  of  the  disease  consists  in  the  destruction  of 
mosquitoes  that  have  been  or  may  become  infected, 

r  •  j         r  •      A-  Prevention 

for  there  is  no  other  mode  of  communication. 
Gorgas  has  proved  such  extermination  possible  even  in  so  vast 
and  fertile  a  hot-bed  as  Havana,  and  has  repeated  the  feat  in 
the  fever-ridden  Canal  Zone.     No  mosquito  should   Havana  and 
be  allowed  to  reach  a  yellow  fever  patient,  who   the  Canal 
should  be  carefully  screened,  nor  having  entered  Zone 
the  apartment,  whether  having  become  infected  or  not,  to 
escape  from  it.     Besides   there    should  be  unre-   Elimination 
mitting  destruction   of    all  mosquitoes,   whether   of  mos- 
infected  or  not.     We  are  relieved  from  the  ancient    ^Ultoes 
dread  of  yellow  fever  by  the  modern  knowledge  of  its  natural 
history.     As  heretofore,  it  is  an  eminently  serious  disease  to  the 
victim,  but  it  is  no  longer  necessary  or  expedient  for  troops  to 
decamp  when  its  accidental  presence  is  discovered.     Neither 
the  person,  the  quarters,  nor  the  effects  of  the  sick  play  any 
part,  as  such,  in  its  propagation.     It  develops  in  man   Quarantine 
within  five  days  after  infection.     Non-immunes  who   of  persons 
do  not  sicken  within  five  days  after  exposure  may  safely  be  re- 
leased.    That  rule  governs  the  quarantine  of  persons.     The 
quarantine  of  property  is  governed  by  the  fact  that    Quarantine 
it  requires  not  less  than  twelve  days  from  the  time  it   of  property 
was  infected  for  the  stegomyia  to  become  capable  of  transmit- 
ting the  disease.     Consequently  during  this  period  the  most 
vigorous  war  must  be  carried  on  upon  all  possibly  infected 
mosquitoes,  through  fumigation  directed  against  all  manner 
of  containers  where  the  sick  person  has  been,  whether  in  an 
ordinary  habitation  or  aboard  ship.     This  must  include  every- 
thing movable,  from  hand-bags  and  blanket-rolls  Extermina- 
te railroad  cars  and  sea-going  vessels.    All  recesses   tiou  of  mos- 
'must    be  thoroughly  explored.     Disinfection  by   Vetoes 
germicides  is  superfluous,  but  the  destruction  of  the  mos- 
quito is  imperative.     In  the  general  campaign  against  the 


306  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

stegomyia  the  rules  already  explained  in  connection  with  the 
anopheles  are  to  be  followed  in  relation  to  both  the  larvae  and 
the  adult.  With  the  opening  of  the  Isthmian  Canal  and  the 
conduct  of  direct  trade  through  the  tropics,  the  utmost  care 
must  be  observed  not  to  admit  infected  insects  aboard  from 
Danger  to  American  coasts  and  convey  them  to  the  Pacific 
Asia  islands  and  the  shores  of  Asia,  where  the  disease 

has  never  appeared.  The  uninfected  stegomijia  abounds  in 
the  Philippines,  and  we  should  take  unremitting  pains  to 
withhold  that  fatal  gift.  The  probable  explanation  of  the 
revival  of  yellow  fever  on  vessels  with  clean  bills  of  health  but 
previously  infected,  while  yet  at  sea  as  they  approached  warmer 
Hibernation  latitudes  after  spending  the  winter  in  cold  harbors 
on  ship-  in  the  hope  of  freezing  out  the  disease-cause,  is 
that  the  infected  insects  hibernated  in  the  recesses 
of  the  ships.  On  sea  or  land  yellow  fever  ceases  abruptly 
with  the  occurrence  of  frost,  but  on  shipboard  the  approach 
of  cold  may  be  gradual  and  it  is  possible  that  the  mosquito 
may  escape  death  by  making  its  way  to  a  suitable  retreat. 
The  writer  knows  of  no  reported  instance  of  the  hibernation 
on  land  of  infected  mosquitoes. 

The  older  method  of  escaping  yellow  fever  when  it  appears 
in  a  community,  by  removing  the  troops  to  a  point  where  the 
Avoidance  disease  will  not  spread,  usually  to  be  found  not 
of  yellow  remote  from  the  seat  of  the  outbreak,  is  rarely 
fever  necessary  now  that  the  mode  of  propagation  is 

understood.  It  depended  upon  leaving  behind  the  domiciliary 
stegomijia  and  either  reaching  a  point  where  that  mosquito  was 
not  present  or  where  by  great  good  fortune  the  fugitives  did 
not  infect  it.  This  course  may  still  very  properly  be  pursued  if 
a  garrison  is  in  immediate  proximity  to  an  infected  civil  com- 
munity incapable  of  dealing  with  the  situation.  A  relatively 
Immune  short  transfer  usually  suffices.  Pending  the  Cuban 
regiments  operations  of  1898,  certain  volunteer  regiments 
raised  in  the  South  were  styled  Immunes.  This  official  des- 
ignation had  absolutely  no  foundation  in  fact  and  therefore 


MALARIA   AND   YELLOW  FEVER  307 

was  false  and  misleading.  There  is  no  natural  immunity 
against  the  malarial  fevers,  and  immunity  against  yellow  fever, 
which  was  here  implied,  is  only  acquired  by  passing  through 
the  disease.  To  call  a  person  or  a  command  not  thus  immu- 
nized immune,  imposes  upon  the  credulity  of  an  uninformed 
constituency. 


XXX 

PREVENTABLE   DISEASES ;  TYPHOID    FEVER 

Typhoid  (more  properly  enteric)  fever  is  one  of  the  most 
serious  scourges  that  afflict  an  army,  and  it  has  heretofore 
Typhoid  been  regarded  by  most  commanding  officers  as 
fever  something  to  be  endured  because  beyond  control. 

Born  of  ignorance  this  was  also  the  older  view  of  scurvy, 
plague,  cholera,  and,  in  civil  communities  almost  to  this  hour, 
of  tuberculosis.  There  is  no  reason  why  typhoid  fever  should 
not  become  as  exceptional  as  smallpox,  if  officers  in  command 
Sagacious  appreciate  their  opportunities  and  intelligently 
control  exercise  their  authority.  But  that  will  not  happen 
under  generals  whose  inner  consciousness  leads  them  to  re- 
habilitate condemned  wells,  or  by  untrained  colonels  who 
publicly  pronounce  worthy  of  death  soldiers  willing  to  under- 
take the  onerous  and  frequently  hazardous  duties  of  sanita- 
tion and  relief  for  the  sake  of  comrades  who  may  never  hear 
a  hostile  shot. 

According  to  statistics  used  by  Major  F.  F.  Russell  *  the 
Federal  Army  alone  had  more  than  80,000  cases  of  typhoid 

_,  ,.  ..  fever  in  the  War  for  the  Union;  the  Germans  in 
Statistics 

the  Franco-Prussian  war  had  more  than  73,000 

cases  and  nearly  9,000  deaths;  the  British  in  South  Africa  had 
31,000  cases  and  nearly  6,000  deaths.  During  five  months 
in  the  Spanish  War  f  we  had  20,738  cases  and  1,580  deaths 
among  107,973  officers  and  men  in  camps  within  the  United 

States;  or  19.26  per  cent,  suffered  from  this  disease. 

Very  nearly  all  of  these  were  secondary  cases; 
that  is,  they  spread  after  enlistment  from  exotic  cases 
that  arose  before  regimental  or  concentration  camps  were 

*  Military  Surgeon,  June,  1909.     f  Official  Board  on  Typhoid  Fever. 

308 


TYPHOID  FEVER  309 

established.     Occasionally  they  were  derived  from  contami- 
nated centres  which  had  been  overlooked  and  thus  became 
disseminating  foci.     As  a  nearly  absolute  rule,  all  these  cases 
represent  as  many  individuals.     As  a  typhoid  case  is  rarely 
fit  for  duty  within  three  months,  many  not  for  a  longer 
period,  and  as  some  who  do  not  die  must  be  dis-    Prolonged 
charged  for  disability,  it  appears  at  what  fearful    disability 
cost  these  ravages  are  permitted.     Any  soldier  can  compare 
such  useless  sacrifices  with  the  casualties  of  battle.     With 
the  best  treatment  hitherto  available,  the  actual  mortality 
in  civil  practice  is  six  per  cent,  of  the  cases,  while    Mortalit 
under  the  disadvantages  of  the  field  it  must  rise 
higher.     The  rate  in  camps  in  the  United  States  just  referred 
to  was  7.62  per  cent,  of  the  cases,  or  14.66  per  1,000  of  mean 
strength.     In  addition  to  the  loss  of  physical  vigor  directly 
due  to  so  many  deaths  and  so  much  illness,  there  are  further 
to  be  reckoned  the  enormous  drain  upon  the  labor  and  pecu- 
niary resources  of  the  army,  the  inevitable  depression  when  a 
single  disease  disables  for  a  prolonged  period  one    Drain  upon 
man  in  five,  and  the  restraint  that  such  wide-    ^SQr 
spread  and  serious  incapacity  imposes  upon  military  activity. 
In  the  first  period  of  a  war  typhoid  fever  is  a  more  serious 
enemy  to  newly  raised  troops  than  the  foe  in    Typhoid 
arms,  and,  paradoxically,  they  escape  its  ravages    among  new 
only  by  having  suffered  them;  for,  like  other  dis-    tro°Ps 
eases  of  its  generic  class,  typhoid  fever  very  rarely  attacks 
the  same  person  a  second  time.     Until  the  disease,  endemic 
the  country  over,  is  obliterated,  accidental  original  cases  will 
unavoidably   bring  primary   cases   to   such   regiments;   but 
every  secondary  case  is  a  reflection  upon  the  sanitary  admin- 
istration or  the  military  discipline  of  the  command,  or  upon 
both.     Commanding  officers  of  companies,  of  regiments,  or 
of  greater  commands,   cannot  remain  content  with  seeing 
sent  to  hospital  men  who  should  never  have  been  infected. 
It  is  their  duty  to  appreciate  the  methods  of  infection  and 
to  inhibit  them. 


310  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

The  specific  cause  of  typhoid  fever  is  a  bacillus,  micro- 
scopic as  all  bacilli  are,  bred  from  earlier  bacilli  of  the  same 

kind  *  and  discharged  in  vast  numbers  alwavs 
Cause  .  J 

from  the  intestines  and  in  many  cases  very  copi- 
ously with  the  urine  of  the  sick.  Should  these  pollute  the 
drinking-water,  the  infection  would  at  once  be  evident  because 
it  would  be  general,  so  that  cases  would  appear  all  along  the 
line.  When  single  cases  are  found  here  and  there,  the  water 
General  probably  is  not  at  fault.  The  evidence  of  general 
water  con-  water  contamination  is  usually  moral  rather  than 
imina  ion  pnySjca^  anc[  fa  js  so  nearly  impossible  to  identify 
the  bacillus  that  it  is  useless  to  require  microscopical  proof  to 
establish  the  charge.  In  peace  the  water-supply  commonly  is 
above  suspicion,  although  sometimes  the  standard  is  main- 
tained only  by  vigilant  inspection.  In  the  field,  in  inhabited 
regions,  because  the  water  may  be  contaminated  at  any 
sterilizati  Pom*»  stringent  filtration  or  recent  sterilization 

is  imperative.  Although  sterilization  by  heat  is 
certainly  trustworthy,  and  it  has  generally  been  held  that 
there  is  no  chemical  method  of  antagonizing  the  typhoid 
poison  so  as  to  make  the  water  fit  to  drink,  Notter  and  Firth  f 
are  of  opinion  that  a  tabloid  of  two  grammes  of  70  per  cent. 
Sodium  sodium  bisulphate  sweetened  with  saccharin 
tablets  and  flavored  with  oil  of  lemon  to  make  it  pala- 
table, will  sterilize  one  and  three-fourths  pints  of  water  in 
twenty  minutes.  The  water  is  not  made  unpleasant,  but 
tastes  somewhat  like  lemonade.  If  this  is  effective  on  a 
large  scale  in  quantity  and  retains  its  quality  for  a  prolonged 
period,  as  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  the  distinguished 
designers  have  accomplished  a  very  beneficent  work.J  As 

*  There  would  be  plausible  grounds  for  supposing  that  an  innocent 
habitual  intestinal  bacillus  may  acquire  this  specific  virulence,  did  not 
all  expert  bacteriologists  deny  that  possibility. 

f  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  931. 

J  It  is  claimed  to  be  equally  effective  against  the  cholera  and  dys- 
entery bacilli. 


TYPHOID  FEVER  311 

they  remark,  it  should  be  specially  serviceable  for  mounted 
men.  In  camps  non-alcoholic  drinks,  including  bottled  com- 
mercial waters  *  vended  by  dealers,  sometimes  Supervision 
may  be  direct  sources  of  this  infection,  and  these  of  beverages 
should  be  supervised  or  prohibited  outright.  A  Sanitary 
Provost  Marshal  for  the  control  of  hucksters  in  camps,  if 
they  are  permitted  there,  and  for  the  supervision  of  dealers 
beyond  the  lines  (which  would  require  legislation  in  the 
absence  of  martial  law),  should  be  a  useful  official;  or  the 
exercise  of  such  peremptory  authority  may  be  appropriately 
added  to  the  duties  of  a  Sanitary  Inspector. 

Typhoid  fever  is  contracted  only  by  swallowing  the  bacillus 
which,  under  military  conditions,  is  disseminated,  apart  from 
the  occasional  agency  of  water,  by  contact,  by  HOW  con- 
dust,  and  by  flies.     The  minuteness  and  the  pro-  tracted 
fusion  of  bacteria  are  difficult  to  realize.     Because  invisible, 
one  is  tempted  to  think  of  these  lowly  organisms  in  any  par- 
ticular situation  as  non-existent.     If  we  associate  the  persist- 
ence of  an  odor  once  attached  to  a  textile  fabric  Minuteness 
as  due  to  a  particulate  base  in  which  the  odor  of  bacteria 
resides,  by  comparison  we  may  appreciate  how  bacteria  cling 
to  transmitting  agents.     The  person  of  the  patient    (not  as 
derived  from  the  skin  itself  or  the  perspiration),  especially 
his  hands  and  the  hands  of  his  attendants,  may  contact, 
harbor  myriads  of  these  germs  diffused  from  the  primary  and 
grosser  excretions.     So  with  utensils  used  by  the  8econdary 
sick.     So  with  the  soil  near  which  they  may  lie  in  camp  hospi- 
tals and  especially  while  yet  in  their  tents.     Equally  so  with 
underclothing,  and  frequently  in  badly  policed  camps  with 
the  shoes.     The  greater  risk  occurs  when  these  articles  are 
inappreciably  polluted  before  the  disease  has  been  recognized. 
Havard  f  cites  a  striking  instance  where  the  infection  was 
carried  from  Minnesota  to  Cuba  in  the  company  baggage. 
One  of  the  most  vicious  practices,  always  to  be  discouraged, 

*  Abstract  Official  Report  on  Typhoid  Fever,  pp.  209.  210. 
t  Military  Hygiene,  p.  20. 


312  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

is  that  of  covering  way-side  discharges  by  scraping  the  soil 
over  them  with  the  shoe  or  with  some  article  of  personal 
equipment.  Should  the  discharges  be  infected,  the  imple- 
ment runs  great  risk  of  infection  also.  They  should  be 
covered,  but  by  an  object  to  be  destroyed  or  abandoned. 
Clothing,  blankets,  tentage,  once  polluted  are  protracted 
sources  of  danger.  The  source  of  a  camp  epidemic  has  been 
traced  tent  by  tent  to  this  agency  of  contact,*  unwitting  but 
real.  Successive,  not  simultaneous,  cases  in  a  family  usually 
depend  upon  contact.  As  a  rule  exemption  from  the  disease 
by  a  company  (there  being  no  general  infection)  is  in  direct 
proportion  to  the  neatness  which  good  discipline  maintains. 
The  province  of  line  officers  here  is  to  enforce  the  advice  the 
medical  officers  give.  Cleanliness  of  the  person,  of  the  tent, 

of  the  street,  and  the  strictest  police  of  the  sinks 
Precautions  .        . 

are  to  be  maintained,  all  according  to  the  camp 

regime  already  indicated.  Men  should  be  required  habitually 
to  wash  the  hands  carefully  before  taking  food.  Frequently 
that  is  impossible  in  the  fiold,  but  the  habit  established  in 
garrison  promotes  its  observance  elsewhere  and  lessens  the 
risk  of  contact  infection.  The  camp  streets  should  be  kept 
dry  and  free  from  dust,  but  not  by  dispersing  dust-clouds 
over  every  place  outside  the  streets.  In  camps  of  position 
these  are  best  oiled.  Blankets  suspected  of  being  infected 
should  never  be  packed  away  without  disinfection,  for  they 
may  retain  the  germ  in  a  communicable  state  for  very  long 
periods;  and  as  a  precautionary  measure  all  company  and 
personal  property  used  by  recognized  typhoid  patients  shortly 
before  admission  to  hospital  should  be  sterilized.  Experience 
warrants  formal  disinfection  of  a  squad-room  and  its  contents 
Disinfection  when  repeated  cases  have  occurred  in  it,  other 
of  squad-  rooms  being  exempt  or  no  external  cause  being 
detected.  This  because  general  contamination  of 
the  residual  dust  of  the  apartment  is  then  probable.  In 
foreign  services  such  action  has  been  followed  by  the  prompt 

*  Abstract  Official  Report  on  Typhoid  Fever,  pp.  113  et  seq. 


TYPHOID  FEVER  313 

cessation  of  local  epidemics.     This  is  not  to  be  misunderstood 
as  teaching  that  the  patient  himself  is  a  source  of  contagion, 

in  the  sense  that  a  scarlet  fever   or  a    measles  T    .   ., 

lypnoid.  not 

case  would  be.      Typhoid    fever  spreads    solely  contagious 
through  the  alvine  and  the  urinary  discharges  and  in  the  corn- 
there  is  no  danger  from  the  personal  presence  of  n 
such  a  patient,   extreme   cleanliness   concerning  those   dis- 
charges being  observed.     But  mild  and  unrecognized  cases 
may  be    detained    in   quarters   long   enough    to  infection 
infect  them  unawares.     In  ill-kept  camps  this  is  through 
a  common  condition,  and  the  dust  becomes  so  mild  case* 
charged  with  these  vicious  bacilli  that  relief  is  found  only  in 
complete  removal  to  a  clean  site  beyond  the  influence  of  the 
former,   and  the  simultaneous  disinfection  of  all  clothing, 
bedding,    and    tentage.     Living   typhoid   bacilli   have   been 
found  in  blowing  dust  after  twenty-five  days.* 

Flies,  like  mosquitoes,  have  been  accepted  so  long  as 
an  annoying  but  harmless  institution  of  nature  that  only  in 
late  years  has  their  agency  as  disease-bearers  Functions  of 
been  seriously  considered.  They  were  regarded  as  flies 
serviceable  consumers  of  organic  waste,  not  as  carriers  of 
decomposing  filth.  The  domestic  fly  does  not  directly  infect 
man,  although  there  are  varieties  which  introduce  parasites 
into  his  blood,  but  it  is  an  industrious  and  effective  carrier 
of  typhoid  and  other  bacilli.  Flies  infest  collections  of  human 
waste,  and  sometimes  the  bacilli  taken  up  in  their  quest  for 
food  are  discharged  with  their  own  excrement  where  they 
alight.  But  more  commonly  they  bear  entangled  upon  their 
feet  filth,  charged  or  not  with  specific  bacteria  as  it  may  chanc  j, 
with  which  they  mark  their  trail.  Such  journeys  from  sinks 
and  cesspools  to  kitchens,  to  dishes  of  prepared  food,  to  table 
furniture,  have  been  repeatedly  and  unmistakably  demon- 
strated. When  the  sinks  themselves  are  infected,  this  direct 
and  vicious  aerial  route  becomes  a  literal  highway  of  disease; 
and  in  camps  where  the  water  is  good,  flies  may  be  infection- 

*  Firth  and  Horrocks,  British  Med.  Journal,  1902,  vol.  92,  p.  936. 


314  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

bearers  of  the  first  rank.  Where  not  restrained,  particularly 
in  encampments,  they  are  prodigal  dispensers  of  filth  and  its 
associated  evils.  A  double  duty  therefore  presses  for  at- 
Precautions  tention:  the  sterilization  of  cesspools  and  other 
against  flies  sinks,  and  the  precautionary  screening  as  far  as 
possible  of  kitchens,  food,  and  mess-tables.  By  preference 
the  house-fly,  which  is  very  prolific,  breeds  in  horse-manure, 
but  its  eggs  are  also  laid  on  other  decaying  material,  includ- 
Breeding-  ing  the  contents  of  kitchen  and  company  sinks. 
places  The  period  of  generation  ranges  from  ten  to  fifteen 

days,  according  to  the  season  and  the  latitude.  A  profusion 
of  flies  is  a  sign  of  much  debris;  conversely,  their  scarcity  in- 
Formalin  to  dicates  sanitary  cleanliness.  The  most  efficient 
kill  flies  exterminator  of  the  fly  within  doors  is  a  five  per 
cent,  solution  of  formalin  in  sugar  water.  Flies  drink  this 
greedily  and  die  promptly.  Manure  piles  should  not  be  tol- 
erated  within  or  near  a  camp  or  garrison,  excepting 
under  urgent  necessity,  for  there  is  no  recognized 
destroyer  of  these  breeding-places  which  may  be  used  on  a 
large  scale. 

Certain  conditions  in  the  dissemination  of  typhoid  fever 
directly  concern  company,  field  and  general  officers  as  main- 
Restraints  tainers  of  discipline.  As  experience  shows  it  im- 
of  discipline  possible  to  concentrate  any  considerable  number 
of  recruits  or  to  bring  into  camp  even  one  new  regiment 
without  the  disease  appearing,  and  as  the  cases  multiply 
in  direct  proportion  to  the  number  of  those  groups,  it  is 
essential  that  from  the  moment  camp  is  opened  the  use  of 
the  sinks  be  compulsory.  Rude  and  thoughtless  men  when 
uncontrolled  relieve  themselves  anywhere  beyond  obser- 
S  ecific  dis  Vati°n5  and  example  encourages  repetition,  so 
charges  that  ill-disciplined  camps  have  been  encircled 
during  with  that  forbidding  barrier.  -This  barbarism  is 

incubation  to  ke  SUppressec}?  not  merely  for  decency's  sake 
but  because  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  between  evacua- 
tions that  are  merely  disgusting  and  those  that  are  infected; 


TYPHOID  FEVER  315 

for  it  is  certain  that  sooner  or  later  the  disease  will  be  repre- 
sented.    As  a  rule  the  incubation  of  typhoid  fever  occupies 
about  ten  days,  but  the  specific  bacteria  are  discharged  from 
the  first  and  usually  this  incubation  is  accompanied  by  a 
looseness  of  the  bowels  which  multiplies  the  chance  of  con- 
tamination.    Occasionally  a  severe  dose  of  the    Infective 
poison  excites  such  irritation  that  the  whole  is    diarrhoea 
expelled  by  a  brief  but  sharp  diarrhoea  before    without 
absorption,  and  those  discharges  also  spread  the    : 
disease  while  the  original  subject  escapes  the  fever.     Further, 
there  are  so-called  " walking  cases,"  which  by  reason  of  their 
mildness  and  of  inaccurate  diagnosis  escape  recog-    Walking 
nition  and  isolation  and  remain  ambulant  distri-    cases 
buters.     Most  dangerous  of  all  is  the  typhoid  "carrier,"  to 
be  noted   later.     The  company   officer  properly  repudiates 
direct  responsibility  for  the  disposition  of  the  sick,  but  under 
none  of  these  conditions  are  the  unsound  men  segregated  for 
medical  control.     Both   classes,   the  merely  filthy  and  the 
infectious,   are  outwardly  indistinguishable,   excepting  that 
advancing  disability  leads  more  urgently  to  indiscriminate 
personal  relief.     All  these  offensive  centres  resemble  the  con- 
tact mines  sometimes  planted  in  a  field  of  pro-    Danger 
spective  assault,  of  which  a  certain  indeterminate    areas 
proportion  explode  when  least  expected.     If  they  are  not 
sown  broadcast,  the  margin  of  safety  is  greatly  widened.     It 
is  the  direct  duty  of  the  officers  of  the  line  in  whose    Duty  of  the 
hands  is  the  machinery  of  control,  to  maintain    Une 
the  whole  territory  of  occupation  as  unpolluted  as  a  parade 
ground.     Nor  is  it  sufficient  merely  to  enforce  an  invariable 
use  of  the  authorized  sinks.     As  just  shown,  these  frequently 
would  then  receive  a  proportion  of  infected  dejecta.    Disinfection 
Consequently  their  entire  contents  should  be  un-   of  sinks 
remittingly  sterilized,  further  to  diminish  the  risk  of  general 
infection  through  flies  and  dust. 

Unreasonable   proximity    of   neighboring    commands    and 
their  conveniences,  and  unwarrantable  compression  of  regi- 


316  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

mental  camps  are  important  contributing  causes  to  the  spread 
of  this  commonest  of  field  diseases,  besides  inflicting  unneces- 
Proximit  sarv  discomfort  and  the  risk  of  other  illness.  Com- 
Immobiiity  pany  officers  cannot  be  held  responsible  for  such 
Overcrowd-  errors,  for  camp  sites  and  camp  residence  are 
determined  by  higher  authority.  It  is  of  record  * 
that  in  the  great  Chickamauga  encampment  of  1898,  regiments 
were  so  near  each  other  as  to  receive  washings  from  foreign 
sinks  on  higher  ground  and,  in  at  least  one  case,  the  company 
sinks  were  within  thirty  yards  of  the  kitchens  with  the  kitchen 
sinks  between  the  two.  Notwithstanding  repeated  requests 
for  relief,  some  commands  were  retained  tor  nearly  three  sum- 
mer months  on  identical  ground,  and  in  others  tents  were 
not  shifted  for  a  similar  period.  "  In  some  instances  the  tents 
of  the  same  company  were  so  close  together  as  to  leave  no 
space  between  them,  and  those  of  two  adjacent  companies 
were  crowded  together  back  to  back.  '  f  Translated  into 
plain  English  this  means  sheer  ignorance,  not  intentional 
manslaughter.  But  unless  brigade  and  division  commanders 
and  their  inspectors  acquire  the  rudiments  of  sanitation, 
history  will  repeat  itself  in  the  next  war  with  the  same  dolor- 
ous consequences  and  domestic  disease  will  be  far  more  deadly 
than  foreign  bullets.  Under  our  system  of  administration, 
it  is  not  the  Medical  Department,  it  is  the  Line  of  the  army 
that  leads  its  men  to  these  rendezvous  of  death. 

Besides  more  obvious  modes  of  infection,  line  officers  should 
understand  two  possibilities,  whose  occurrence  is  rare  but 
Infection  which  may  have  to  be  considered  in  the  investiga- 
through  the  tion  of  an  outbreak  and,  in  one  of  the  instances, 
in  the  disposition  of  an  intermediary.  One  is  that 
an  immune  individual  may  receive  typhoid  bacilli  at  a  distant 
water-supply  or  otherwise,  may  carry  them  to  his  own  neigh- 
borhood where,  through  an  otherwise  normal  evacuation,  he 

*  Abstract  of  Official    Report  on   Typhoid  Fever  in  the  Spanish 
War,  pp.  52,  53,  180. 
t  Op.  cit.,  p.  187. 


TYPHOID  FEVER  317 

may  deposit  them  so  as  to  infect  the  local  water-supply  and 
occasion  an  epidemic.*  This  requires  an  extraordinary  com- 
bination of  incidents,  but  it  is  possible.  The  other  is  the 
occasional  persistence  of  these  bacilli  in  the  body  of  a  re- 
covered patient  and  their  discharge  for  indefinite  periods  in 
otherwise  normal  faeces  and  perhaps  in  the  urine.  Typhoid 
Such  persons  are  known  as  "  typhoid  carriers/'  carriers 
are  themselves  unconscious  of  their  unfortunate  endowment, 
and  are  a  constant  menace  to  the  health  of  the  community. 
A  "  carrier  "  is  a  medium  for  the  cultivation  of  a  germ  to 
whose  influence  he  has  become  immune  but  which  he  con- 
stantly distributes.  One  such  civil  case  is  recorded  where  in 
the  course  of  several  years  twenty-eight  distinct  infections 
followed  the  progress  of  the  carrier.  It  has  been  estimated 
that  in  Europe  about  three  per  cent,  of  recovered  cases  are 
carriers  for  longer  or  shorter  periods.  There  are  no  available 
American  statistics.  No  such  agent  of  morbidity  can  be 
tolerated  in  the  military  service,  and  consequently  every 
convalescent  from  this  disease  must  be  isolated  so  far  as 
his  dejecta  are  concerned,  until  bacteriological  examination 
establishes  his  typhoid  sterility.  When  such  a  case  is  found 
his  disposition  becomes  a  serious  problem,  which  does  not 
require  solution  here  further  than  to  say  that  he  should  not 
be  retained  in  the  ranks  or  in  other  intimate  connection  with 
the  soldiery. 

The  typhoid  germ  may  survive  outside  the  human  body 
for  long  periods,  as  on  a  folded  woollen  cloth  for  eighty  days 
and    in    otherwise    polluted    soil    for    practically    viability  of 
indefinite    periods.     Upon    these    facts    rest    the    the  typhoid 
requirements  that  company  commanders  should    Bacillus 
present  for  disinfection  the  blankets  of  their  typhoid  men 
before  storing  them  away  or  otherwise  disposing 
of  them,  and  the  positive  prohibition  against  occu- 
pying  sites  previously  encamped   upon   at  even  a  remote 
date.     The  exception   is   for   camps   of   position   conducted 

*  Abstract  of  Report  on  Typhoid  Fever,  p.  203. 


318  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

under  strictly  sanitary  conditions  and  known  not  to  have 
harbored  this  or  other  diseases.  The  viability  of  the  bacilli 
Burial  of  °f  non-disinfected  discharges  in  the  earth  is  so 
typhoid  dis-  vexed  and  unsettled  that  it  is  safer  to  bury 
charges  them  deeply,  notwithstanding  the  active  bacteria 
supposed  to  neutralize  them  in  otherwise  unpolluted  soil 
reside  in  the  upper  layers.  When  thus  buried,  the  proximity 
of  a  water-supply  should  be  avoided. 

It  is  believed  that  about  60  per  cent,  of  civilians  of  military 
age  are  non-immune  to  typhoid  fever,  so  that  in  view  of  its 
Preventive  constant  presence  among  raw  troops,  the  gravity 
inoculation  of  the  disease,  and  the  restraint  it  imposes  upon 
military  operations,  it  is  of  enormously  greater  importance  to 
prevent  the  infection  of  the  well  than  to  cure  the  sick.  Such 
prevention  seems  practicable  at  a  certain  although  slight 
risk,  by  inducing  artificial  immunization  through  inoculation 
with  prepared  typhoid  cultures,  and  this  has  been  practised 
within  a  narrow  range.  To  call  this  process  "vaccination," 
a  term  seeking  introduction,  is  more  than  ambiguous,  it 
is  a  misuse  of  English.  "  Vaccination "  implies  connection, 
"Vaccina-  directly  or  in  the  past,  with  a  bovine  agent,  and 
tion"  an  by  long-established  usage  describes  a  form  of 
inapt  term  protection  against  small  pox,  which  has  nothing  in 
common  with  typhoid  fever.  It  is  impossible  to  "  vaccinate" 
against  this  disease,  for  cows  neither  contract  it  nor  furnish  a 
preventive;  and  the  word  in  itself  implies  neither  prevention 
nor  infection,  except  in  a  very  secondary  sense.  The  practical 
objection,  beyond  its  defilement  of  the  language,  is  the  con- 
fusion it  is  liable  to  create  in  the  minds  of  the  laity.  "  Anti- 
typhoid inoculation,"  although  cumbrous,  is  truthful  and 
Anti-typhoid  expressive,  and  until  a  technical  designation  is 
inoculation  coined  may  best  be  employed.  In  the  British 
service  this  inoculation  is  contingent  upon  the  consent  of  the 
soldier.  Notter  and  Firth*  make  this  report  of  the  experi- 
ence of  the  17th  Lancers  in  India,  in  1905,  when  attacked 

*  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  676. 


TYPHOID  FEVER  319 

by  the  fever:  "  Of  514  persons  in  the  regiment,  127  submitted 
to  a  complete  inoculation  against  enteric  by  means  of  two 
injections,  23  received  only  one  injection,  and  364  refused  to 
be  inoculated  at  all.  No  cases  of  enteric  fever  occurred 
amongst  the  127  cases  fully  inoculated,  2  cases  occurred 
among  the  23  partially  protected,  and  61  cases  occurred  among 
those  who  refused  to  be  inoculated.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  more  striking  series  of  figures."  Such  protection  is 
not  yet  permanent,  but  it  is  presumed  to  last  at  least  two 
years,  and  even  when  the  disease  occurs  the  case-mortality 
is  reduced  to  nearly  one-third.  On  the  occurrence  of  war, 
this  preventive  use  of  the  typhoid  culture  should  be  obliga- 
tory with  all  soldiers  non-immune  through  not  Compulsion 
having  had  the  disease  or  by  recent  inoculation.  &  war 
In  peace  it  may  properly  be  optional  until  experience  makes 
its  value  a  part  of  the  common  knowledge  and  custom  of  the 
times. 


XXXI 

PREVENTABLE,  COMMUNICABLE,  AND   AVOIDABLE 
DISEASES,  AND    DISINFECTANTS 

Cholera,  an  occasional  epidemic  of  great  violence  in 
temperate  climates  and  a  frequent  pestilence  in  the  Asian 
Cholera  tropics,  is  propagated  by  the  discharges  from  the 
stomach  and  bowels  and  not  otherwise.  Unlike 
typhoid  fever,  it  may  recur  again  and  again  in  the  same 
person,  and  like  typhoid  fever  it  most  frequently  begins  with 
a  painless  diarrhoea,  which  it  is  important  should  not  escape 
upon  the  ground.  In  all  cases  the  infection  enters  the  mouth. 
Modes  of  The  commonest  general  agency  is  a  specifically 
infection  polluted  water-supply,  whether  from  a  well,  a 
reservoir,  or  directly  from  a  river;  but  besides,  indirect  con- 
tact-cases are  frequent,  especially  in  camps  where  the  shoes 
and  other  clothing  may  be  soiled  by  the  watery  excreta.  As 
with  typhoid  fever,  flies  industriously  disseminate  its  active 
bacteria.  When  it  is  influenced  only  by  natural  conditions, 
the  cholera  cause  probably  escapes  change  in  the  soil  for  a 
Cholera ba-  considerable  period;  hence  it  is  an  axiom  of  mil- 
cilliinthe  itary  sanitation  that  an  old  cholera  camp  may 
soil  never  be  re-occupied.  From  the  soil  it  is  quite 

possible  for  the  bacillus  to  become  attached  to  and  to  taint 
by  its  presence  the  fruit  and  vegetables  grown  directly  there- 
upon.    Consequently,  where  it  prevails  uncooked 
food  is  very  liable  to  infection  through  careless  han- 
dling.    The  bacillus  appears  to  have  a  relatively  short  life  in 
water,  except  as  it  is  continuously  reenforced  from  without. 

But  the  testimony  is   conflicting,  and  it  is  safer 
Disinfection  ...          ,,  .       .  .  ,      ,.  ,          . 

to    sterilize   all  water  of  which   there  has   been 

the  least  suspicion.     The  disinfection  of  all  discharges  and 

320 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  321 

of  all  articles  contaminated  by  them  is  imperative,  and  this 
is  rendered  difficult  because  of  their  appearance,  of  their 
volume,  and  of  the  force  with  which  frequently  they  are 
ejected. 

Choleraic  discharges  are  copious  and  colorless,  so  closely 
resembling  rice-water  as  to  have  acquired  that  name  as 
descriptive.  Clothing  and  bedding  are  frequently  saturated 
with  them,  and  uncleanly  persons,  as  immigrants,  infected 
because  they  are  not  seriously  stained,  often  trans-  clothing 
port  them  unwashed,  and  the  disease  reappears  when  they  are 
again  brought  into  use.  In  1848  certain  emigrants  from ' 
Europe  went  to  New  Orleans  in  a  sailing  ship.  As  it  happened, 
while  on  shipboard  and  several  weeks  out  of  port  cholera  broke 
out  among  them,  and  it  was  supposed  that  the  vessel  had 
entered  a  cholera  cloud,  which  consisted  with  the  current  view 
of  aerial  infection.  In  fact,  the  temperature  having  changed, 
certain  boxes  of  clothing  had  been  opened  for  use  and  these, 
contaminated  before  packing,  infected  those  who  handled  them. 
The  pursuit  of  our  troops  by  cholera  in  the  Black  Hawk  war 
was  undoubtedly  through  not  dissimilar  contact.  No  bedding, 
clothing,  or  other  material  liable  to  have  been  infected  should 
escape  vigorous  disinfection,  preferably  by  fire,  and  it  would 
be  criminal  to  retain  any  such  property  in  store  or  to  put  it 
to  other  use  untreated. 

It  is  probable  that  the  cholera  poison  does  not  flourish  in 
acid  fluids,  either  within  or  without  the  body,  and  that  it 
spreads  more  easily  where  alkaline  fermentation    Acids 
occurs.     Hence  to  acidulate  the  discharges  is  one    antagonize 
of  the  best  preventives.     This  applies  to  typhoid    cholera 
fever  as  well.     The  discharges  should  be  disinfected  whether 
they  pass  into  sewers,  into  sinks,  are  buried,  or  are  consumed; 
and  they  should  be  placed  beyond  any  possible  risk  of  con- 
taminating the  upper  soil  or  the  water.     Munson    Acidulated 
quotes  Christmas  as  saying  that  0.6-0.8  gramme    beverages 
citric  or  tartaric  acid  to  the  litre  (5-7  grains  to  the  pint) 
surely  sterilizes  water  against   the  cholera   cause.      This  is 


322  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

perfectly  harmless  and  is  not  disagreeable.  The  sodium 
bisulphate  tablet  (ante)  is  also  a  plausible  remedy.  In  an 
outbreak  of  cholera,  in  the  absence  of  direct  medical  advice 
it  would  be  well,  besides  boiling  the  water,  to  require  the 
command  to  use  an  acidulated  drink,  such  as  an  aromatic 
sulphuric  acid  "  lemonade. "  It  is  believed  that  this  pre- 
ventive treatment  has  saved  special  communities  from  the 
disease.  To  that  end  this  acid  should  be  a  part  of  the  detach- 
ment supplies  in  cholera  countries,  where  a  medical  officer 
may  not  be  accessible.  Because  it  is  possible  that  digestive 
derangements  facilitate  the  morbid  action  of  the  cholera 
Predis-  bacillus,  there  should  be  special  avoidance  of 
position  aii  diarrhceal  or  gastric  irregularities  in  cholera 
seasons  or  places.  The  precautions  against  contamination 
through  "walking  cases"  and  by  flies,  advised  in  the  case 
of  typhoid  fever  (ante),  apply  here  with  equal 
force.  Where  cholera  prevails,  alcoholics  and 
those  exhausted  by  excesses  or  physical  fatigue  are  the  least 
liable  to  escape  illness,  the  bacillus  once  taken  into  the  body; 

_.  .  .  for,  as  with  typhoid  fever,  it  is  probable  that  in 
Dissipation  .  JF 

some  instances  the  infection  passes  on   without 

seriously  affecting  the  system,  but  that  is  not  the  case  with 
the  dissipated  and  broken  down.  Preventive  inoculation 
Inoculation  against  cholera  is  available.  It  seems  to  reduce 
against  the  number  of  cases  to  less  than  one-tenth  of 
those  among  the  non-inoculated  equally  exposed; 
but  it  should  not  be  substituted  for  scientific  sanitation.  Its 
efficiency  endures  for  a  little  more  than  a  year. 

Tuberculosis  in  the  form  of  consumption  is  one  of  the  most 
prevalent  diseases  of  civil  life  and,  notwithstanding  the  care 
Consump-  taken  in  recruiting,  men  in  the  ranks  are  constantly 
tion  discovered  to  be  tuberculous.  This  is  probably 

due  to  a  latent  infection  which  showed  no  physical  sign  at 
enlistment.  Its  evolution  may  be  due  to  military  conditions, 
and  it  would  be  an  interesting  story  to  determine  what  similar 
factors,  if  any,  of  quarters,  nutrition,  duty,  or  exposure  oper- 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  323 

ated  in  groups  of  recruits  who  became  consumptive.  It  is 
eminently  infectious  where  the  air-space  is  insufficient,  and 
from  this  cause  garrisons,  especially  in  foreign  armies,  were 
formerly  ravaged  by  it.  Because  of  the  greater  attention 
paid  to  preventive  medicine,  and  especially  because  of  the 
increased  allowance  of  air,  the  military  case-rate  and  the 
death-rate  alike  are  diminishing.  But  it  requires  vigilance 
to  maintain  the  conditions  for  health.  In  proportion  as  an 
occupied  apartment  is  crowded,  is  there  risk  of  Relation  of 
the  spread  of  this  disease  from  a  case  accidentally  cubic  space 
introduced,  or  from  the  development  of  one  heretofore  latent. 
This  risk  diminishes  exactly  as  the  air-space  enlarges.  Con- 
sumption depends  upon  a  bacillus  disseminated  not  by  the 
breath  but  by  the  expectoration  which  is  charged  cause  of 
with  it.  When  the  sputa  are  sufficiently  dried  to  consumption 
be  blown  about,  in  the  barracks  or  in  camp,  they  may  be  in- 
haled and  the  contained  bacilli,  if  they  escape  destruction  in 
the  blood,  as  happily  the  most  do  not,  set  up  the  disease.  It 
is  true  that  such  high  authority  as  Notter  and  inhalation 
Firth,*  following  Fliigge,  are  of  opinion  "that  the  theory 
theory  of  infection  following  inhalation  rests  upon  imperfect 
knowledge,"  but  it  is  certainly  a  safer  theory  to  follow  in  gar- 
rison. For  it  is  very  difficult  to  confine  the  explanation  of 
that  direct  increase  of  this  disease  which  is  recognized  to 
accompany  overcrowding  to  the  effect  of  impure  air  in  the 
chemical  sense,  and  to  dissociate  therefrom  the  pathological 
contamination  which  the  sick  are  known  constantly  to  dis- 
seminate. 

As  soon  as  the  sputum  (the  phlegm)  in  any  protracted 
"cold"  becomes  yellow,  which  is  a  sign  that  it  is  purulent,  it 
should  be  examined  microscopically  for  the  bacillus    Early 
and,  when  that  is  certainly  found,  the  soldier  should    attention 
be  transferred,  without  further  delay,  to  the  sanatorium  pro- 
vided for  such  cases.     Company  officers  should  be  vigilant 
to  require  men  with  persistent  coughs  not  already  on  sick 
*  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  725. 


324  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

report,  to  report,  however  unwilling  they  may  be  to  do 
so,  for  medical  examination,  in  justice  to  themselves  and 
to  their  comrades;  for  the  actual  expectoration  and  their 
explosive  coughs  and  sneezings  may  infect  bedding,  bar- 
racks, and  other  men.  Disinfection  of  material  and  apart- 

Disinfection  ment  shoul<^  promptly  follow  the  recognition  of 
tuberculosis.  Notwithstanding  consumptives  may 
be  successfully  treated  at  many  of  the  military  posts,  such 
men  should  not  be  retained  with  their  companies,  but  be  segre- 
Tubercuiosis  gated  at  the  designated  station.  After  entering 
general  the  post  hospital,  preparatory  to  transfer  to  the 
hospital  general  hospital,  the  man  passes  directly  under 
professional  care,  which  is  beyond  the  purview  of  this  work. 
It  is  important  to  remember  that  consumption  progresses  so 
In  the  rapidly  at  the  humid  sea  level  in  the  Philippines, 

Philippines  that  immediately  upon  its  bacteriological  recog- 
nition, or  when  the  physical  signs  are  clear,  removal  to  the 
interior  high  table-land,  or,  better,  transfer  to  the  United 
States,  is  imperative. 

Diphtheria  is  an  eminently  infectious  disease  which  has  no 
peculiar  relation  to  military  life,  but  whose  introduction  into 

either  barracks  or  quarters  should  be  the  signal 
Diphtheria      ...  , 

for   a   vigorous   campaign  of  prevention  among 

those  who  have  been  exposed  to  it,  and  for  the  destruction  of 
the  contagium  where  it  might  have  found  lodgment.  Diph- 
theria depends  upon  a  bacillus,  which  enters  the  air-passages 
with  minute  particles  of  false  membrane  dislodged  by  cough- 
ing or  sneezing.  Although  imperfect  ventilation  fosters  the 
spread  of  diphtheria,  this  is  not  due  to  the  simple  inhalation 
of  the  breath  of  the  sick;  but  contact  of  a  mucous  membrane 
with  the  specific  cause  is  required.  Such  contact  may  be 
through  infected  utensils,  clothing,  and  in  so  many  unforeseen 
D.  .  f  .  ways  that  an  apartment  and  its  furniture  which 
have  harbored  diphtheria  should  be  radically  dis- 
infected, notwithstanding  ordinary  cleanliness  may  have  been 
observed  during  the  illness.  The  infection  once  established 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  325 

clings  persistently,  sometimes  for  months  and  even  years. 
Milk  from  diseased   cows,  independently  of  its  human  in- 
fection, may  induce  diphtheria;  hence  inspection 
and,  if  necessary,  restrictive  control  of  the  milk- 
supply  should  be  exercised  by  the  commanding  officer  where 
diphtheria,  not  otherwise  accounted  for,  enters  a  garrison. 
The  domestic  cat  is  susceptible  to  the  disease  and 
is  a  good  carrier  of  it  even  when  not  itself  ill;  which 
should  exclude  these  pets  from  contaminated  married  quar- 
ters.   A  protective  anti-toxin,  administered  subcutaneously  to 
healthy  persons  exposed  to  diphtheria,  will  immu-  . 

nize  them  against  it  for  a  limited  period,  and  is  use- 
ful in  thus  strangling  an  epidemic.     As  with  some  other  infec- 
tions, occasional  recovered  cases  may  as  carriers 
retain  the  specific  bacilli  for  considerable  periods. 
Such  men,  although  apparently  fit  for  duty,  must  be  detained 
from  quarters  on  probation. 

Small-pox  has  been  so  shorn  of  its  power  by  protective 
vaccination  that  some,  not  familiar  with  social  history,  are 
disposed  to  look  upon  it  as  practically  extinct, 
or  as  of  little  gravity  when   compared  to   the 
imaginary  perils  with  which  they  endow  that  most  innocent 
and    far-reaching    preventive  agency.     When  uncontrolled, 
small-pox  is   a  loathsome,    comprehensive,   and  very   fatal 
plague,  disfiguring  and  crippling  many  who  escape  death. 
Vaccination,  which  insures  practical  immunity  against  small- 
pox for  a  number  of  years,  should  be  carefully  but  not  too 
frequently   performed,    preferably   by    quadruple          . 
insertions  in  one  of  the  extremities.     Thorough 
vaccination  in  infancy,  repeated  at  the  age  of  14-16,  generally 
protects  throughout  the  military  age;  but  every  recruit  should 
be  presented  for  examination,  and  preferably  for  trial  vacci- 
nation, when  he  reaches  a  proper  station.     The  general  vac- 
cination liable  to   be  ordered  whenever   the   proximity   of 
small-pox  is  reported  is  unnecessary  if  the  command  is  already 
immune,   and   this   should   be   determined   by   the   medical 


326  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

officers.  Protected  persons  need  avoid  those  infected  only 
lest  their  clothing  may  bear  the  highly  active  infection  from 
the  sick  man  to  others  unprotected,  representing  a  mediate 
form  of  infection.  They  themselves  will  be  safe.  The  exclu- 
sion of  small-pox  from  a  post  is  coordinate  with  the  degree  of 
Camp-  authority  exerted  over  the  heterogeneous  women, 

followers  children  and  employes  comprehensively  grouped 
as  camp-followers.  If  the  commanding  officer  requires  their 
habitual  enrolment,  stated  inspection,  and  vaccination  when 
necessary,  protection  may  be  assured.  If  there  is  no  record 
and  no  order  they  remain  an  insanitary  mob. 

Varioloid  is  modified  small-pox,  not  a  distinct  disease,  of 
passing  importance  to  the  individual,  but  capable  of  commu- 
nicating true  small-pox  to  others.    The  isolation 
Varioloid  .    &     .  .       . 

required   in  small-pox  applies  also  to  varioloid. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  small-pox  occurs  in  an  unpro- 
tected and  isolated  detachment  where  vaccine  virus  cannot 
Inoculation  be  procured.  It  then  becomes  the  duty  of  a 
or  vario-  competent  person  to  perform  inoculation,  better 
lation  called  variolation,  which  induces  true  small-pox, 

but  usually  of  a  mild  type.  Where  there  has  been  small-pox, 
for  all  property  that  is  combustible  fire  is  the  most  trust- 
worthy disinfectant. 

Measles  is  a  highly  contagious  disease,  as  yet  preventable 
only  by  good  fortune  in  evading  its  presence,  which,  sooner 
or  later,  becomes  impossible.  Recruits  from  popu- 
lous districts  are  usually  immune  to  it  because  of 
having  contracted  it  in  childhood,  but  that  is  not  the  case 
with  those  from  the  country.  It  is  a  serious  disease  for 
adults,  especially  under  the  exposure  of  the  camp  and  in 
cold  weather;  and  it  is  always  to  be  anticipated  in  newly 
raised  commands  as  certain  to  include  those  from  the  rural 
districts.  On  account  of  its  prevalence  and  the  gravity  of 
its  complications  there  should  be  special  hospital  provision 
for  it  with  new  levies,  and  commanding  officers  must  make 
allowance  for  it  as  diminishing  the  mobility  and  the  efficiency 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  327 

of  the  troops  in  the  earlier  stages  of  a  war.  In  1861-5,  there 
were  67,700  cases  with  4,200  deaths  among  white  troops  in 
the  Union  army,  and  after  colored  troops  were  organized  they 
had  8,555  cases  and  933  deaths.  Among  the  Confederate 
forces,  not  only  regiments  but  brigades  were  temporarily 
disbanded  on  this  account  in  the  autumn  of  1861. 

Mumps,  also  contagious  but  less  so  than  measles,  not  so 
grave  as  that  disease  but  serious  in  its  complications  when 
under  canvas,  is  also  to  be  reckoned  with  as  in- 
evitable  among  new  troops,  and  especially  in  those 
from  the  country,  in  an  epidemic  form.  There  is  no  known 
preventive. 

Scarlet  fever  is  not  an  inevitable  disease,  but  it  is  very 
serious  under  climatic  exposure,  especially  in  northern  lati- 
tudes. The  direct  contagion  of  this  fever  is  not  strong,  but 

its  persistence  is  extreme,  surviving  for  years  and 

.  /.  Scarlet  fever 

even  after  prolonged  burial.  Everything  con- 
nected with  such  a  case  in  a  household,  toys,  clothing,  and 
especially  books,  should  be  burned.  Small  wooden  houses 
thus  tainted  about  a  post  it  is  safer  to  destroy  by  fire,  and 
infected  tentage  also  should  be  burned.  More  permanent 
apartments  are  to  be  thoroughly  scraped,  scrubbed  with  cor- 
rosive sublimate  1  to  1,000,  and  lime- washed  or  painted,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

There  are  several  forms  of  dysentery,  an  entirely  distinct 
disease  from  diarrhoea,  with  which  it  is  confused  in  some  not 

well-informed  minds.     The  most  serious  of  these  „ 

Dysentery 
are  tropical  complaints,  not  only  dangerous  to  life 

but  obstinate  in  their  course,  resistant  to  treatment  and  very 
liable  to  recur.  Like  typhoid  fever  these  may  be  caused  by 
contaminated  water  and  by  contact,  including  contagion 
through  flies.  Flies  may  carry  the  infection  to  food,  and  some- 
times they  directly  infect  the  well  at  the  very  sinks.  These 
bowel  troubles,  sometimes  causing  immediate  incapacity, 
at  other  times  permeating  the  command  at  large,  so  that  its 
fighting  ability  recedes  and  advances  under  their  influence  as 


328  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the  tide  of  disability  runs  higher  or  is  diminished,  may  de- 
prive the  general  of  a  large  section  of  his  effective  force  in 
the  hour  of  need,  and  certainly  impose  a  train  of  invalidity 
that  distresses  the  victims  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 
Pr  The  prevention  of  dysentery  in  the  tropics  follows 

with  no  intermission  the  same  lines  as  those  against 
typhoid  fever  in  the  presence  of  an  epidemic.  For  the  in- 
visible seeds  are  always  at  hand,  awaiting  opportunity  for 
growth  in  human  soil.  The  very  careful  washing  of  all  fruit 
and  vegetables  eaten  raw,  and  the  certain  cooking  of  all 
other  food,  are  even  more  important  than  with  typhoid  fever, 
because  possible  infection  is  so  wide-spread.  This  necessity 
must  be  constantly  explained  and  the  orders  be  enforced. 

Beri-beri  is  a  grave  disease,  practically  although  not  liter- 
ally confined  to  the  rice-eating  inhabitants  of  tropical  and 
.  subtropical  countries,  which  shows  itself  in  two 
forms.  Without  discussing  its  pathology,  it  is 
sufficient  to  say  that,  while  beri-beri  is  believed  to  originate 
through  errors  of  diet,  places  seem  to  become  infected.  Amer- 
icans are  unlikely  to  be  concerned  with  this  disease  excepting 
in  the  way  of  Philippine  administration,  and  officers  in  author- 
ity should  exert  their  power  to  lessen  a  morbidity  that  is 
distressing  and  a  mortality  sometimes  appalling  when  such 
responsibility  is  not  recognized  and  the  hand  that  might  help 
is  withheld.  In  general  terms  the  sick  and  their  associates 
(for  usually  there  is  a  group,  sometimes  a  large  number) 
should  be  transferred  to  another  and  a  dry  situation,  the 
dietary  should  be  enlarged,  and  the  rice  furnished  in  it  should 
be  the  brown  cured  variety,  that  has  been  boiled  before  husk- 
ing and  storing.  The  gravity  to  the  dependent  nations  of 
beri-beri,  which  is  not  a  self-limited  disease,  should  never  be 
forgotten  by  the  officer  in  control. 

Leprosy  is  another  disease  generally,  but  by  no  means 
exclusively,  confined  to  Asiatics,  and  is  particu- 
larly rife  in  Hawaii.     It  probably  spreads  through 
accidental  inoculation  by  an  infected  object,  as  a  fish-hook, 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  329 

a  contaminated  splinter,  or  some  unsterilized  article  of  table 
furniture  conveying  the  bacillus  under  the  skin  or  to  a  pre- 
existing ulcer.  Leprosy  is  presumably  not  contagious  in  the 
common  sense,  and  there  is  little  need  to  isolate  lepers  as  long 
as  they  are  not  offensive  to  the  eye,  excepting  as  they  are 
liable  to  infect  utensils  or  other  objects  of  common  use,  or 
to  distribute  the  bacillus  out  of  the  body  with  dangerous 
frequency.  Soldiers  should  be  cautioned  to  avoid  the  habita- 
tions and  the  haunts  of  lepers  for  fear  of  accidental  inocu- 
lation, and  when  it  or  plague  prevails  all  abrasions  should 
be  sealed. 

Plague,  more  widely  spread  than  beri-beri  or  leprosy,  is 
not  confined  to  the  brown  and  yellow  races  among  which  it 
is  most  common;  but  without  great  care  it  may 
ravage  the  world,  as  in  earlier  times  it  desolated 
Europe.  Under  our  flag  it  is  practically  confined  to  the 
oriental  races,  but  it  is  always  a  menace  to  our  troops  in  the 
Philippines.  The  plague  is  primarily  a  disease  of  the  rat, 

and  in  man  is  due  to  accidental  inoculation  with 

Bat 

a  specific  bacillus   (b.  pestis)  which  is  communi- 
cated by  the  flea   (pulex  cheopis)   that  is  harbored  by  the 
animal.     The   common   flea    (p.   irritans)    is   not   a   plague- 
bearer.     Plague  is  probably  perennially  endemic 
in  rats,  and  it  has  been  observed  that  an  outbreak 
of  an  epidemic  in  man  is  apt  to  be  preceded  by  a  fatal  epizootic 
among  the  rats  of  the  region.     When  large  numbers  of  the  rats 
die,  it  may  be  that  the  fleas  turn  to  man  as  to  a  required  new 
feeding-ground.     Rats  and  rat-fleas  particularly  infest  the 
unclean  habitations  of  many  Asiatics,   where  the  exposed 
extremities  of  the  natives  invite  attack  by  the  parasites.     It 
has  been  alleged  that  the  smaller  black  house-rat  is  the 
natural  host  of  this  flea  and  that  as  it  has  been 
replaced  in  Europe  by  the  larger  brown  rat  the 
plague  has  gone  with  it.     Prevention  requires  the  killing  of 
the  rats  that  harbor  the  disease-bearers  and  drenching  the 
dead  animals  while  still  in  situ  with  a  wash  that  will  destroy 


330  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

the   flea.     Campaigns   of   this   sort  require  intelligence,  in- 
genuity, and  boundless   energy,  to  be   successful.     Cleanli- 
ness of  the  person  and  of  his  environment  is  an 
Prevention      .  /  . 

important  element  of  protection.     In  the  presence 

of  an  epidemic,  inoculation  with  an  anti-toxin  devised  by 
Haffkine  yields  excellent  preventive  as  well  as  curative 
Preventive  results.  Although  this  flea  belongs  directly  to 
inoculation  the  rat?  it  may  infect  native  clothing  and  bed- 
ding, and  therefore  the  habitations  and  personal  effects  of 
the  infected,  as  well  as  those  that  accompany  all  emigrants 
from  such  districts,  should  be  disinfected.  The  military 
relation  of  plague  lies  in  the  necessity  for  preserving  gar- 
risoned posts  and  the  troops  at  large  free  from  infection, 
and  in  the  obligation  of  the  official  American  to  advance 
sanitation  in  the  insular  possessions. 

Distinctly  parasitic  diseases  of  men  and  animals,  as  for 
example  the  uncinariasis  of  Porto  Rico  (and  perhaps  of  our 
Uncinariasis  Southern  states)  and  the  surra  of  the  Philippines, 
and  surra  invite  attention  as  within  the  philosophical  bounds 
of  military  hygiene,  but  their  consideration  is  omitted  as 
beyond  the  conventional  limits  of  the  subject. 

Venereal  diseases  are  preventable  only  in  the  sense  that 
they  are  avoidable.  With  insignificant  exceptions  they  are 
Venereal  due  to  direct  contact  with  infected  tissues.  The 
diseases  only  way  to  avoid  the  disease  is  to  avoid  the 
risk,  and  this  resistance  to  man's  strongest  primitive  instinct, 
upon  which  depends  the  perpetuation  of  the  race,  involves  a 
moral  power  and  physical  control  which  few  celibates  com- 
pass. Legitimate  amusement  and  abundant  occupation 
within  the  garrison,  and  plain  instruction  as  to  the  perils 
involved  in  vicious  indulgence,  are  the  most  hopeful  means  of 
limiting  this  evil.  Men  with  these  affections  in  an  acute 
form  should  be  eliminated  by  inspection  from  every  expedi- 
tionary command,  and  the  loathsomeness  of  constitutional 
syphilis,  with  the  constant  risk  of  secondary  infection  from 
it  attending  certain  stages,  warrant  its  subject  to  be'dis- 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  831 

charged  without  honor  instead  of  devoting  the  period  of  a 
short  enlistment  to  its  attempted  cure. 

"A  disinfectant   is   an  agent   capable  of  destroying   the 
infective  power  of  infectious  material;"  and  substances  that 

merely  neutralize  bad  odors  are  deodorants,  not 

.  Disinfectants 

disinfectants.     Those    which    simply    mask    one 

form  of  offensive  smell  by  another  may  be  neither.  Fire, 
direct  sunlight,  dry  heat,  steam,  boiling  water,  dry  earth, 
sulphur  in  combustion,  chlorine,  lime  as  a  chlorinated  com- 
pound, quick-lime,  corrosive  sublimate,  derivatives  of  carbolic 
acid,  and  formaldehyde  and  formalin  are  the  most  serviceable 
under  military  conditions. 

Fire,  as  its  kindred  word,  pure,  makes  plainer,  is  the  prim- 
itive, and  also  when  properly  used  the  most  effectual,  cleansing 
agent.  It  abolishes  with  no  hurtful  residuum  every 
infective  agent  to  which  it  can  be  applied.  Its 
general  use  is  limited  only  by  the  necessary  destruction  of 
most  of  the  infected  substances  when  it  eradicates  the  perni- 
cious accidents  which  bestow  upon  them  their  mischievous 
character.  The  first  impulse  is  to  regard  burning  as  wasteful, 
but  often  it  is  true  ultimate  economy  utterly  to  destroy 
property  that  otherwise  may  be  a  continuing  source  of  disease 
and  disability.  Fire  also  renders  a  subsidiary  but  useful 
service  in  consuming  the  fragments  of  food  and  perishable 
material  left  in  cans  and  other  receptacles  when  ready  to  be 
thrown  away;  and  with  some  care  the  remnants  from  the 
mess-table  that  otherwise  would  become  garbage  may  be 
immediately  desiccated  if  not  consumed. 

It  is  to  the  action  of  sunlight  in  devitalizing  fugitive  bac- 
teria blown  about  with  the  dust,  the  dried  sputa  and  other 

excreta,  or  that  rest  in  accessible  cracks  and  crev- 

.   .,  Sunlight 
ices,  that  garrisons  and  camps  as  well  as  civil 

communities  owe  much  of  their  exemption  from  possible 
disease.  On  the  other  hand  dark  habitations  are  liable  also 
to  be  damp  and  unwholesome,  as  casemates.  For  this 
reason,  with  others,  camps  should  not  lie  in  the  jungle  or 


332  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

dense  woods,  and  barracks  should  be  arranged  for  flooding 
with  direct  sunlight  a  part  of  the  day.  Constant  exposure 
to  a  brilliant  sun  in  combination  with  heat,  as  in  the  tropics, 
is  harmful  to  human  health,  but  man  profits  in  the  end  by  its 
limitation  of  bacterial  life. 

Dry  heat  and  steam,  the  latter  generally  under  pressure, 
are  used  with  special  sterilizing  apparatus  in  the  hands  of 
Dry  heat,  trained  men.  They  are  a  part  of  the  appliances 
steam,  boil-  of  large  hospitals,  and  as  such  do  not  concern  us 
ing  water  here.  Boiling  water  is  the  most  convenient  agent 
for  applying  bactericidal  heat  to  adaptable  articles.  Speak- 
ing generally,  these  are  cotton  and  linen  fabrics  and  most 
utensils. 

The  ordinary  mould  of  superficial  soil  is  very  rich  in  nitri- 
fying bacteria.  It  is  upon  this  quality  that  the  value  of  the 
D  earth  eai>th-closet  depends.  The  earth  should  be  dried 
in  the  sun  and  be  pulverized,  for  the  further  it  is 
subdivided  the  more  effective  it  is.  Clods  and  caked  earth 
act  only  through  their  superficies.  When  dried  artificially 
as  sometimes  is  necessary,  there  is  great  risk  that  the  benefi- 
cent bacteria  may  be  killed  by  excess  of  heat.  The  chief 
disinfectant  use  of  dried  earth  is  with  faecal  discharges,  and 
about  a  pound  and  a  half  should  be  applied  to  each  evacuation. 
It  is  upon  this  principle,  not  merely  to  put  them  out  of  sight, 
that  open-air  evacuations  should  be  immediately  covered, 
and  the  soil  to  cover  in  at  the  sinks  be  kept  as  dry  and  as  fine 
as  possible.  Coal  ashes  are  not  desirable  for  this  purpose,  and 
the  addition  of  an  artificial  deodorant  may  antagonize  the 
natural  agents  in  the  soil. 

Sulphur  burned  in  the  presence  of  oxygen,  as  in  the  air, 
generates  sulphur  dioxide.  This  is  a  rough-and-ready  way  of 
Sulphur  developing  a  bad  odor,  a  gas  irrespirable  by  man, 
dioxide  and  a  germicide  as  to  whose  value  authorities 
are  at  variance.  When  sufficiently  concentrated  it  destroys 
moderately  resistant  germs.  As  it  puts  an  end  to  animal 
life,  it  is  well  adapted  to  the  fumigation  of  transports,  store- 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  333 

houses  and  other  magazines  that  may  be  overrun  with  insects 
and  rats. 

Chlorine  is  also  an  irritant  gas  and  like  sulphur  is  a  decolor- 
izer.     It  may  be  generated  by  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid 
on  manganese  dioxide.     Its  high  specific  gravity    Clllorine 
renders  crevices  above  the  level  of  the  distributing 
vessel  difficult  of  access,  but  when  it  is  well  done  chlorine 
disinfection  is  efficient.     A  more  convenient  method  is  to  wash 
down  the  apartment  in  all  its  parts  by  a  one  per  cent,  solution 
of  chlorinated  lime.     The  chlorine  continues  to  be  given  off 
until  the  entire  substance  is  decomposed.     As  a  precaution  ' 
this  should  be  repeated  several  times.*     For  every  600  feet 
of  surface  8  ounces  of  this  lime  and  3  pints  of  water  would  be 
enough  for  one  washing.     Chlorinated  (or  chloride    Chloride  of 
of)   lime  destroys  most  odors  of  decomposition,    ^me 
and  on  that  account  is  chiefly  used  where  decay  is  occurring. 
To  scatter  it  upon  the  surface  of  such  a  mass  by  no  means 
implies  its  penetration. 

The  ordinary  commercial  lime,  freshly  made,  is  a  valuable 
disinfectant  for  open  sinks  and  to  throw  upon  faecal  deposits 
which,  in  spite  of  orders,  new  troops  make  in  un-  . 
authorized  places  under  cover  of  night.  This 
latter  use  serves  a  double  end;  it  neutralizes  the  discharge 
and  marks  the  spot.  To  be  effective  the  lime  must  be  newly 
burned,  that  is,  be  quick-lime.  In  that  state  it  neutralizes  the 
commoner  bacteria.  Air-slaked,  it  is  valueless  for  disinfec- 
tion. As  it  is  bulky,  for  an  amount  equal  to  that  of  the  faecal 
matter  is  required  for  incorporation  therewith,  and  it  therefore 
may  tax  the  wagon  transportation,  as  it  must  be  carefully 
stored  out  of  the  rain,  as  it  becomes  air-slaked  by  long  keeping, 
and  as  lime  cannot  be  had  near  at  hand  everywhere,  quick- 
lime is  not  always  available  for  camps.  But  where  it  can  be 
had  it  is  very  useful,  and  usually  it  is  cheap.  It  may  be  used 
dry,  or  in  strong  solution  as  "milk  of  lime."  Its  common 
use  as  lime-wash  on  walls  and  out-houses  speaks  for  itself. 

*  Notter  and  Firth:  Hygiene,  3d  ed.,  p.  753. 


334  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

Corrosive  sublimate  (bichloride  of  mercury,  mercuric  chlo- 
ride) has  the  advantage  of  extreme  portability  and  the  dis- 
Corrosive  advantage  of  being  very  poisonous.  It  has  the 
sublimate  further  disadvantage  of  forming  an  insoluble  coat- 
ing with  the  albumen  of  the  excretions  it  is  designed  to  sterilize, 
thus  itself  depriving  their  interior  of  its  own  action,  although 
this  may  be  overcome  by  making  the  solution  to  be  used 
acid ;  and  it  corrodes  metal  utensils  and  pipes.  It  is  of  greater 
service  in  a  post,  where  a  1  to  1,000  solution  is  valuable  for 
washing  down  infected  walls  after  fumigation  or  aerial  dis- 
infection. For  privy-vaults  one  pound  of  corrosive  sublimate 
dissolved  in  much  water  may  be  used  to  500  pounds  of  the 
estimated  contents.  On  account  of  its  very  poisonous  quali- 
ties, corrosive  sublimate  should  be  kept  in  store  only  by  the 
medical  department,  for  issue  as  required. 

The  essential  chemical  principles  contained  in  carbolic 
acid  (the  higher  phenols)  are  valuable  bactericides  and  are 

_  probably  the  most  convenient  of  all  the  effective 

Carbolic  acid  r  J  •  .     .          c 

agents  for  field  use.     A  5  per  cent,  solution  of 

carbolic  acid  is  effective  against  most  disease-causing  germs. 
Under  the  name  of  cresol  these  phenols  are  found  in  the  mar- 
ket in  combination  as  very  serviceable  emulsions,  of 
twice  the  strength  of  carbolic  acid,  and  they  are  suf- 
ficiently portable  and  inexpensive  to  be  used  freely  in  the  field. 
Formaldehyde,  generated  by  the  action  of  heat   (from  a 
special  lamp)  on  wood  alcohol,  is  an  efficient  gaseous  germicide 
Formalde-      f°r  exposed   micro-organisms.     It  will  not  pene- 
hyde  trate  fabrics  deeply,  and  it  kills  mosquitoes  only 

when  brought  with  sufficient  concentration  into  direct  contact 
with  them.  Formalin  is  a  40  per  cent,  solution  of  formalde- 
hyde, and  has  all  the  acceptable  qualities  required 
of  a  disinfectant  when  it  is  brought  into  contact 
with  bacteria.  "A  10  per  cent,  solution  mixed  with  faecal 
discharges  renders  them  odorless  at  once,  and  completely 
sterile  within  an  hour."  * 

*  Havard:  Military  Hygiene,  p.  446» 


DISEASES  AND  DISINFECTANTS  335 

In  these  outlines  of  disinfection  nothing  more  has  been 
sought  than  to  supply  the  line  officer  with  a  scheme  through 
which  he  may  appreciate  medical  advice,  or  in  emergency 
and  for  the  time  act  himself  for  the  protection  of  his  men. 

To  officers  of  the  organized  militia,  many  of  whom  may 
one  day  command  volunteers,  and  to  intelligent  soldiers  who 
may  aspire  to  commissions,  sanitation  should  appeal  with 
peculiar  interest.  The  regulars  inherit  a  mass  of  traditions 
and  methods  known  as  the  custom  of  the  service,  which 
includes  forms  for  garrison  and  field  life  under  a  kind  of  rule 
of  thumb.  Some  of  these  are  poor,  but  the  most,  derived 
from  experience,  are  good.  In  the  nature  of  the  case  the 
militia  and  the  volunteers  do  not  have  these  to  fall  back  upon; 
hence  the  importance  of  learning  the  reasons  as  well  as  the 
methods  of  their  new  life. 

For  regulars  and  volunteers  alike  the  conclusion  of  the 
whole  matter  is  that  the  care  of  troops,  or  the  practice  of 
military  sanitation,  is  a  continuing  service  full  of  prosaic 
detail  act  by  act.  But  it  is  of  great  public  as  well  as  profes- 
sional importance,  as  measured  by  its  development  of  the 
military  arm  upon  whose  combined  vigor  and  skill  the  se- 
curity of  the  commonwealth  at  times  must  rest.  History 
plainly  shows  armies  wasted,  not  through  ignorance  of  tactics, 
but  because  of  the  neglect  of  that  strategy  which  involves  the 
realization  of  military  limitations  as  well  as  of  capabilities 
and  opportunities.  The  medical  director  should  be  a  trusted 
counsellor  of  the  commanding  general,  but  to  weigh  his  advice 
the  general  must  appreciate  it. 

The  minutiae  of  this  duty  expand  naturally,  so  that  the 
care  of  an  armed  man  and  that  of  an  army  are  problems  of 
the  same  factors,  only  varying  in  their  power,  in  the  science 
of  military  hygiene.  The  company  officers  and  their  imme- 
diate superiors  should  extend  constant  and  intelligent  super- 
vision to  all  the  enlisted  men,  whose  physical  energy  alone 
makes  success  possible,  but  whose  position  precludes  initiative 


336  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

and  who  may  be  forced  into  unavoidable  impotence.  In 
addition  to  physical  care  this  involves  cultivating  the  moral 
qualities  of  contentment,  and  of  personal  and  patriotic 
pride  in  the  profession  of  arms.  The  substructure  of  the 
whole  is  bodily  and  mental  vigor.  No  army  handicapped  by 
unnecessary  illness  nor  crippled  by  self-imposed  disabilities 
can  properly  serve  the  republic.  To  maintain  its  efficiency 
requires  the  intelligent  cooperation  of  all  grades  and  all 
branches  of  the  service. 


XXXII 

THE  CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD 

THE  very  first  element  in  the  efficiency  of  an  army  is  its 
health.  The  success  of  a  campaign  depends  upon  hostile 
contact,  actual  as  in  battle  or  potential  as  in  manoeuvres; 
but  in  either  form  those  operations  require  vigorous  men  for 
their  execution.  As  every  student  of  military  affairs  knows, 
the  deaths  in  the  field  from  disease  far  exceed  those  from  the 
casualties  of  action,  and  the  discharges  for  disability  for  ill- 
ness greatly  outnumber  those  for  wounds.  It  is  also  true 
that  the  newer  the  troops  the  more  sickly  are  they,  so  that 
sometimes  the  ranks  are  much  reduced  before  the  enemy  is 
found.  That  is,  it  is  the  camp  and  not  the  battle  that  at  first 
and  most  seriously  disables  men.  The  prevention  of  very 
much  of  this  disease  lies  in  the  hands  of  officers  of  the  line. 
Medical  officers  may  point  out  the  methods  of  prevention, 
but  their  execution  rests  with  the  officers  in  actual  command. 
By  an  intelligent  application  of  their  authority  these  can 
reduce  the  preventable  disease  to  the  minimum,  and  nearly 
all  camp  disease  is  preventable. 

A  large  improvised  army  of  seasoned  troops  is  a  contra- 
diction of  terms.  Therefore  when  a  newly-raised  army  is  to 
take  the  field,  its  material  should  be  selected  as  carefully  as 
possible.  Youthful  recruits  have  little  military  value.  Men 
for  active  service  should  not  be  less  than  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  or  they  would  be  too  immature  physiologically.  Imma- 
ture men  in  the  ranks  require  special  care,  because  as  a  class 
their  endurance  and  adaptability  are  inferior.  Such  soldiers 
succumb  under  the  exertion  and  hardships  that  at  any  time 
may,  and  sometimes  must,  be  required  of  them. 

All  collections  of  young  men  are  liable  to  epidemics  of  such 

337 


338  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

contagious  diseases  as  measles,  mumps,  German  measles, 
scarlet  fever,  as  they  may  not  have  suffered  from  in  child- 
hood; on  which  account  rural  recruits  in  particular  furnish  a 
large  immediate  sick-list.  Regiments  raised  directly  in  the 
country  must  expect  to  pass  through  a  period  of  inefficiency 
from  measles  alone,  which  always  ravages  such  commands. 
This  is  a  very  serious  matter  for  adults  in  camp,  and  the  colder 
the  climate  the  more  grave  are  its  consequences.  There  is 
practically  no  way  except  by  isolation  to  prevent  these  con- 
tagious diseases.  The  most  that  regimental  officers  can  do 
is  to  provide  abundant  air-space  and  protection  against  the 
weather  for  those  within  range. 

Rural  recruits  do  not  bear  as  well  as  those  from  the  towns 
the  irregular  hours  and  the  night  work  of  military  life,  nor  do 
they  learn  as  quickly.  But  after  they  have  become  habituated 
to  discipline  and  its  requirements  they  are  more  efficient. 

All  recruits  are  apt  to  suffer  from  troubles  of  digestion  and 
assimilation.  The  plainer  food  and,  particularly,  the  cooking 
with  which  in  the  beginning  they  are  supplied  disturb  the 
health  of  many,  and  one  of  the  first  duties  of  a  company 
commander  is  to  secure  a  really  competent  field  cook  for  his 
men.  Intelligent  assistants  should  then  be  detailed  in  succes- 
sion, so  as  to  spread  a  knowledge  of  the  preparation  of  food 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  When  every  man  can  acceptably 
cook  his  own  ration  under  the  conditions  of  the  bivouac,  that 
command  has  reached  a  high  state  of  efficiency  and  nothing 
less  than  that  is  satisfactory.  It  is  in  this  respect  that  volun- 
teers, and  especially  the  organized  militia,  are  often  woefully 
at  fault.  When  called  into  service  they  do  not  know  how  to 
prepare  their  food.  Training  of  this  kind,  instead  of  depen- 
dence upon  hired  caterers  in  their  summer  camps,  would  add 
immeasurably  to  their  efficiency  when  mustered  in.  The 
National  Guard  should  understand  that  military  cooking  is 
more  important  than  markmanship  in  the  early  days  of  a 
campaign.  It  is  useless  to  place  in  front  of  the  enemy,  or 
indeed  to  hold  in  reserve,  men  however  well  equipped  who 


CARE  OF   TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD  339 

cannot  keep  the  field  in  vigor  from  inability  to  subsist  on  the 
food  as  furnished.  However  abundantly  the  commissariat 
may  be  supplied,  only  that  food  benefits  the  soldier  which  is 
well  cooked  and,  moreover,  is  digested  and  assimilated.  It  is 
the  food  in  the  blood,  not  in  the  kitchen,  which  supplies  vital 
force.  On  account  of  the  common  difficulty  with  field  food 
at  the  beginning,  an  extra  supply  of  good  bread  should  always 
be  provided.  It  is  invariably  acceptable  to  recruits,  it  is  a 
good  diet,  and  none  of  it  goes  to  waste. 

The  most  important  single  article  of  uniform  is  the  shoe,  and 
it  is  a  company  officer's  duty  to  see  that  his  men  are  properly 
equipped  in  that  way  as  soon  as  they  are  mustered  in.  Nor 
should  he  be  satisfied  with  seeing  that  shoes  are  issued.  He 
must  satisfy  himself  that  they  surely  fit.  Besides,  a  real 
march  should  not  be  begun  in  new  shoes,  whether  they  fit  or 
do  not,  until  they  have  been  well  oiled  and  made  supple. 
The  soldier's  marching  capacity  depends  upon  the  character 
of  his  foot-gear,  and  it  is  also  in  this  respect  that  the  organized 
militia  when  mustered  in  with  State  equipment  are  apt  to 
be  defective,  because  so  many  of  those  men  wear  their 
civilian's  shoe  under  military  conditions.  When  the  shoe  is 
not  issued  by  the  State,  the  Guardsman  should  be  required 
to  keep  a  serviceable  pair  of  marching  shoes  with  his  arms 
and  in  equal  condition  for  use.  One  of  the  most  painful 
trials  for  all  troops  beginning  a  campaign,  whether  otherwise 
trained  or  not,  is  foot-soreness.  The  almost  invariable  attempt 
of  raw  troops  to  make  an  excessive  march  in  e very-day  snoes 
leads  to  a  great  deal  of  avoidable  agony.  The  military  shoe 
as  issued  is  not  ideal,  but  it  is  much  better  than  what  the 
soldier  will  buy  and  wear  if  not  prevented.  No  man  should 
be  excused  from  wearing  the  regulation  shoe,  unless  under 
very  exceptional  circumstances  certified  by  a  medical  officer 
of  experience.  To  be  serviceable,  a  marching-shoe  should  be 
large  enough  in  all  directions,  but  not  too  large.  When  the 
foot  moves  within  the  shoe  it  is  quite  apt  to  develop  chafes. 
The  shoes  should  be  made  supple  with  oil,  and  for  better 


340  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

endurance  have  hobnails  in  the  sole.  The  company  officer 
should  convince  himself  by  direct  and  repeated  personal 
inspection  that  his  men's  feet  are  properly  cared  for  as  to 
nails,  and  in  the  absence  of  corns  and  bunions.  Men  should 
be  instructed  to  cut  the  nails  square  across,  not  rounded,  a 
little  but  not  far  behind  the  end  of  the  toe.  Especially  when 
there  is  a  tendency  to  grow  in,  the  corner  of  the  nail  must  not 
be  rounded. 

Before  a  march  the  foot  should  be  well  greased  with  tallow 
or  neat's-foot  oil  (but  these  are  not  easily  had  in  the  field),  or 
the  inside  of  the  stocking  should  be  covered  with  a  stiff  lather, 
carefully  rubbed  in,  of  soap.  The  common  yellow  soap,  always 
at  hand,  is  too  irritating  except  for  well  hardened  feet,  although 
it  was  in  well  established  use  with  the  older  soldiers.  The 
blander  soaps  serve  better.  Should  the  stockings  excite  pain 
on  a  prolonged  march,  the  pressure  is  sometimes  relieved  by 
changing  them  to  the  other  feet  or  by  turning  them  inside  out. 
Plain  rags  wrapped  around  the  feet>  are  an  efficient  substitute 
for  stockings,  that  sometimes  are  very  comfortable  and  always 
are  much  cleaner.  A  blister  on  the  foot  should  be  opened  by 
only  a  prick  at  the  lowest  point.  Or  better  if  practicable, 
pass  a  threaded  needle  through  it  and  tie  the  ends  of  the  thread 
together.  This  will  drain  the  fluid  without  disturbing  the 
delicate  skin.  The  next  day  the  ends  of  the  thread  may  be 
cut  off,  but  the  inner  part  should  not  be  removed.  To  soak 
the  feet  in  water,  especially  cold  water,  although  grateful  at 
the  time,  is  of  doubtful  advantage.  It  is  better  to  wipe  them 
carefully  with  a  damp  towel  or  to  bathe  them  gently  with 
tepid  water  and  rub  in  an  animal  oil.  The  latter  is  hardly 
practicable  on  a  march.  Chafed  and  inflamed  surfaces  should 
be  well  greased  or  be  covered  with  a  clay  poultice  (Sundberg). 
The  salicylic  and  talcum  foot-powder  or  ointment  within  the 
stocking  is  particularly  efficacious.  Spare  stockings  should 
be  put  on  at  the  end  of  the  march,  and  those  worn  during  the 
day  be  dried  and  beaten,  or  if  possible  be  washed,  for  the 
morrow. 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD  341 

Individual  cleanliness  is  a  material  factor  of  health  and 
efficiency,  and  the  stated  inspections  by  company  officers 
should  embrace  the  condition  of  the  person  and  of  the  under- 
clothing. At  least  once  a  week  at  an  inspection,  combined 
with  the  daily  inspection  of  quarters  or  not,  the  actual  condi- 
tion should  be  observed  under  commands  similar  to  these: 
"  Remove  both  shoes  and  one  stocking !  Open  coats  and  shirts ! 
Non-commissioned  officers  excepted."  Uncleanliness  thus 
observed  should  be  followed  up.  An  inspection  confined  to 
the  outer  dress  and  satisfied  with  clean  spare  underclothing 
in  the  blanket-roll,  regardless  of  what  may  be  on  the  person,  • 
is  unworthy  the  name  and  encourages  concealment.  This  is 
the  more  important  with  new  troops,  because  with  some  of 
them  exact  care  of  the  person  is  an  unfamiliar  task  and  to  all 
the  meagre  accommodations  of  the  field  interpose  obstacles. 
Recruits  require  nearly  as  much  supervisory  care  as  children, 
and  it  should  be  given  unremittingly  and  intelligently  until 
they  become  adapted  to  their  new  life.  On  that  account, 
that  they  may  see  as  well  as  hear  what  to  do,  it  is  very  desir- 
able to  assign  regular  recruits  to  organized  companies  as 
promptly  as  they  are  sufficiently  drilled  not  to  destroy  the 
formation.  And  it  is  equally  important  to  introduce  a  few 
good  old  soldiers,  if  they  can  be  found,  into  volunteer  organi- 
zations. But  pains  should  be  taken  that  such  men  shall  be 
cheerful,  not  grumblers,  if  possible.  After  new  soldiers  truly 
pass  out  of  the  recruit  stage  this  vigilance  may  be  relaxed,  and 
at  no  time  should  concern  degenerate  into  friction  and  worry. 
Perpetual  nagging  —  too  curious  supervision  —  is  almost  as 
bad  as  contemptuous  neglect. 

Where  water  is  scarce,  a  very  small  quantity,  a  quart,  with 
a  small  sponge  or  a  damp  towel,  is  sufficient  for  cleanliness. 
Where  it  is  abundant,  plunge  bathing  should  be  encouraged, 
except  in  the  very  heat  of  the  day  or  near  nightfall.  Soldiers 
should  be  encouraged  to  carry  a  cake  of  soap,  in  a  small  flannel 
bag  to  avoid  waste.  For  officers,  soap  "leaves"  in  a  small 
water-proof  box,  to  be  carried  in  the  pocket,  are  most  con- 


342  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

venient.  Every  prolonged  campaign  where  opportunities  for 
the  care  of  the  person  are  deficient  is  marked  by  the  presence 
of  vermin.  These  may  affect  any  grade.  The  odor  of  musk 
is  said  to  be  deterrent,  but  it  can  only  be  used  exceptionally. 
To  thoroughly  boil  the  clothing  or  to  soak  it  in  sea-water  or 
other  brine  is  the  simplest  way  of  destroying  the  infection. 
To  soak  infected  clothing  in  a  barrel  of  water  containing  a 
handful  of  "fish  berries"  (cocculus  indicus)  is  said  on  good 
authority  to  be  efficacious.  A  careful  captain,  later  a  general 
officer,  has  been  known  to  carry  these  with  his  company 
property  for  this  especial  purpose. 

New  soldiers  invariably  begin  field  service  by  attempting 
to  carry  too  much,  and  then  very  soon  they  abandon  necessary 
things.  There  should  be  prepared  in  advance  two  schedules, 
one  of  articles  that  must  and  another  of  such  as  may  be  carried. 
The  limit  of  the  first  should  not  be  lowered  nor  that  of  the 
second  be  exceeded.  But  after  six  months  the  second  schedule 
may  be  abandoned  in  view  of  the  experience  acquired.  On 
daily  marches  it  is  found  that  washing  the  face  and  neck  on 
rising  is  not  well,  probably  because  the  removal  of  the  natural 
secretion  makes  the  skin  more  susceptible  to  the  dust  and  heat 
of  the  route.  To  wash  the  eyes  and  mouth  and  use  a  damp 
towel  on  the  face  and  neck  is  preferable.  When  camp  is 
reached  the  entire  body  if  possible,  and  invariably  the  head, 
the  genitals  and  adjacent  folds, and  the  feet,  are  to  be  washed. 
Soldiers'  hair  should  always  be  kept  short. 

When  lying  out  of  barracks,  soil-dampness  should  always 
be  guarded  against  by  an  impermeable  sheet,  as  the  rubber 
blanket,  between  the  man  and  the  ground,  or  the  soldier 
should  have  a  few  inches  of  air-space  under  him.  In  a  wooded 
country  immediate  steps  should  be  taken  to  build  platforms 
at  least  two  and  better  four  feet  from  the  soil  upon  which  the 
tents  may  rest.  The  natural  sod  should  not  be  removed.  To 
raise  the  tent  thus  is  not  difficult,  and  it  has  secured  immunity 
from  soil-diseases  for  an  entire  command  owing  to  the  air- 
swept  space  under  the  sleepers.  If  the  tents  cannot  be  ele- 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD  343 

vated,  bunks  must  be  raised  well  above  the  ground.  Even 
with  shelter  tents,  there,  should  be  some  approach  to  this. 
Under  no  circumstances  should  the  men  sleep  directly  on  the 
soil,  and  whatever  constitutes  the  floor,  whether  boards,  boughs, 
or  straw,  must  be  removed  and  the  surface  swept  and  exposed 
to  the  air,  and  if  possible  to  the  sun,  every  dry  day.  Tent 
walls  should  rarely  be  raised  to  windward  after  nightfall. 
Vegetation  liable  to  decay  is  not  healthful  to  sleep  upon. 

Except  under  overruling  military  objections,  which  would 
rarely  occur,  tents  should  open  to  the  east,  and  the  southern 
wall  be  raised  in  good  weather  after  the  day  is  advanced,  so 
that  sunlight  may  search  it  throughout.  Tents  not  on 
elevated  platforms -should  be  moved  weekly  to  the  alternate 
spaces  that  would  remain  in  the  lines. 

Every  tent  should  be  ditched  as  soon  as  pitched.  That 
is  a  good  rule  for  all  camps  not  in  rainless  regions,  and  an 
imperative  one  in  damp  places.  In  any  climate  dampness 
of  a  tent  floor  is  harmful.  On  the  second  day  at  the  latest, 
company  and  other  streets  should  be  prepared.  These  and  a 
general  system  of  superficial  drainage  are  everywhere  essential 
for  comfort  and  in  wet  climates  for  health. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  because  a  command  is  in  the 
field  it  has  an  adequate  air-supply.  Canvas  when  wet  is 
practically  impermeable  to  the  air,  and  in  a  wooded  or  chap- 
paral  country  there  may  be  little  movement  of  the  atmos- 
phere. Camps  may  readily  be  too  compact,  and  troops 
marching  in  close  order  are  liable  to  modified  crowd-poison- 
ing. The  utmost  extension  of  a  camp  that  military  con- 
siderations will  permit,  within  the  limits  of  reasonable  police 
supervision,  is  always  necessary,  especially  in  a  hot  country. 
In  hot  weather  all  tents,  shelter  or  other,  standing  more  than 
one  night  should  be  protected  overhead  by  a  brush  canopy, 
and  brush  arbors  in  front  of  tents  should  be  built  by  the 
second  day.  These  should  be  arranged  to  protect  from  the 
sun  with  the  least  interference  with  the  wind.  In  camps  of 
any  duration  vegetable  decay  from  these  shades  must  be 


344 


MILITARY  HYGIENE 


guarded  against.  For  camps  of  position  portable  huts  or 
sheds  may  be  furnished.  These,  whose  frames  may  be  of 
wood  or  iron,  should  have  ridge  ventilation  from  rafters 
crossing  beyond  the  true  peak,  louvered  lateral  openings  in 
the  wall,  and  a  steep  roof  to  throw  off  the  rain.  Temporary 
huts  of  the  same  general  character  with  fairly  open  walls  can 
speedily  be  built  where  there  is  light  timber.  They  need  not 
be  more  than  16  feet  wide  nor  10  feet  to  the  eaves.  Every 


Portable  hut.    From  Notter  and  Firth's  Hygiene  (By  the  courtesy 
of  Messrs.  P.  Blakiston  &  Co.) 

structure  for  habitation  should  be  ditched  as  carefully  as  the 
tents,  and  by  preference  be  raised  on  posts  well  off  the  ground. 
In  cold  weather  it  should  be  well  banked.  If  the  floor  is 
not  raised,  the  boards  should  be  fastened  with  screws  and  be 
frequently  removed.  As  with  tents,  the  principles  of  dry  soil, 
a  free  air-space  under  the  floor,  and  abundant  ventilation  and 
sunlight  should  be  maintained. 

Notwithstanding  air  may  have  free  access,  neither  barracks 
nor  tents  should  be  overcrowded.  Consumption  spreads 
readily  under  such  circumstances  the  world  over.  In  all 
stationary  camps  the  men  develop  a  tendency  to  accumulate 
useless  articles.  These  are  hurtful  by  interfering  with  the 
living  space,  harboring  dust,  and  sometimes  promoting  decay, 
and  should  relentlessly  be  condemned.  At  every  daily  in- 
spection in  dry  weather  the  floor  should  be  absolutely  bare, 
and  the  ground  beneath  it  be  observed. 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD  345 

The  proper  police  of  all  military  camps  is  important,  par- 
ticularly in  southern  climates  where  the  combination  of  heat 
and  moisture  leads  to  the  rapid  decomposition  of  waste  and 
encourages  the  plague  of  flies.  Hence  all  refuse  should  be 
promptly  removed  without  the  lines  and  everything  that  is 
combustible  be  burned.  Incombustible  material  should  be 
buried  in  trenches,  partly  for  the  sake  of  order  and  partly 
that  no  debris  in  sight  may  serve  as  an  excuse  for  other  such 
neglect.  Kitchen  waste  should  be  disposed  of  twice  daily. 

The  sinks,  miscalled  latrines  except  when  there  is  water 
carriage,  on  every  account  require  the  greatest  care.  They 
should  be  placed  to  leeward  if  possible,  and  always  no  farther 
away  than  absolutely  necessary,  for  when  properly  cared 
for  they  need  not  offend  the  sense  of  smell  or  of  sight.  The 
company  kitchens  and  the  general  sink^  should  be  on  op- 
posite sides  of  the  camp;  for  it  is  well  established  that  some 
diseases  may  be  communicated  by  flies  that  have  alighted  in 
sinks  transferring  with  their  feet  infected  particles  of  filth  to 
prepared  food  in  the  hands  of  the  cooks  or  of  the  men.  It  is 
imperative  that  sinks  should  not  drain  toward  the  water- 
supply.  Each  sink  should  be  from  12  to  20  feet  long,  by  5  to 
8  or  more  feet  deep,  if  intended  for  use  more  than  twenty-four 
hours.  It  is  better  to  multiply  the  sinks  than  to  make  them 
too  long.  In  each  case  all  the  earth  should  be  thrown  to  the 
rear  and  the  more  nearly  pulverized  it  can  be  kept,  the  better. 
For  a  single  day's  use,  3  feet  is  deep  enough.  But  sinks 
should  be  dug  immediately  for  every  part  of  a  command  of 
any  size.  It  is  only  a  small  body  of  actively  moving  troops, 
that  will  not  be  followed  by  others,  that  can  afford  to  dispense 
with  them  for  a  single  night.  In  that  case,  as  well  as  bef.ore 
sinks  are  dug  if  there  is  even  trifling  delay,  a  small  area  must 
be  set  apart  to  leeward  where  men  may  relieve  themselves. 
When  this  is  done  and  the  men  are  equipped  with  an  intrench- 
ing tool,  each  man  should  be  required  to  cover  immediately 
his  evacuations  with  fresh  earth  and  not  merely  to  scratch 
loose  dirt  over  them.  Where  there  are  no  tools  they  are  to 


346  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

be  covered  with  equal  care  by  an  extemporized  implement. 
The  use  of  sinks  or  of  a  limited  locality  should  be  strictly 
enforced.  There  is  no  more  distinct  sign  of  ill-disciplined 
troops  than  the  soil  pollution  that  follows  such  neglect.  Sinks 
should  be  screened  by  bushes  and  be  covered  from  the  sun 
when  possible.  In  wet  seasons  old  canvas  may  be  reserved 
to  protect  in  part  from  the  rain.  Under  the  same  conditions 
the  excavated  earth  should  be  kept  dry  as  far  as  may  be.  The 
individual  deposits  should  be  covered  with  earth  at  the  time, 
and,  besides,  a  full  layer  of  dry  earth  should  be  thrown  in 
evenly  at  least  thrice  daily  —  at  retreat,  after  breakfast,  and 
at  noon.  If  lime  can  be  procured,  it  should  be  added  if  there 
is  the  least  evidence  of  dysentery  in  the  command,  for  dysen- 
tery may  be  contracted  by  the  well  who  frequent  foul  latrines 
used  by  such  sick.  To  burn  a  little  mineral  oil  on  paper  or 
straw  thrown  into  the  sink  helps  to  keep  down  the  flies.  When 
within  two  feet  of  the  surface  the  sink  should  be  filled  in, 
rounded  over,  distinctly  marked,  and  a  new  one  prepared  in 
the  same  general  neighborhood.  All  sinks  should  be  filled 
in  on  breaking  camp  and  all  debris  burned,  if  there  is  no  mil- 
itary objection  to  the  smoke  from  the  fires.  Officers'  sinks 
should  have  box  seats  open  to  the  rear,  and  be  well  protected 
in  front,  rear,  and  overhead.  Urinals  should  be  arranged  in 
convenient  places  in  a  camp  of  permanence,  and  their  use 
compelled;  for  it  is  perfectly  possible  to  communicate  such  a 
disease  as  typhoid  fever  by  urine  indiscriminately  voided. 
Besides,  the  annoyance  from  ammonical  decomposition  is 
very  serious.  The  sinks  used  by  the  sick  are  to  be  disinfected 
as  the  medical  officer  may  direct,  and  all  sinks  are  to  be 
inspected  daily  by  the  officer  of  the  day  in  addition  to  the 
medical  officer's  inspection. 

Cheerfulness  is  absolutely  necessary  for  a  healthy  camp. 
The  two  elements  that  insure  this  are  occupation  and  amuse- 
ment. Ennui  is  the  parent  of  discontent  and  homesickness. 
Discontent  spoils  the  best  soldier,  and  homesickness  is  a  most 
depressing  disease.  Regular  occupation  besides  drills,  is 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD  347 

necessary.  After  a  camp  is  well  established  work,  preferably 
of  a  military  character,  should  be  found,  as  for  instance  the 
making  of  field  defences,  or  of  gabions  and  fascines.  This 
should  not  be  carried  to  exhaustion,  nor  to  prevent  any 
leisure.  At  the  same  time  athletic  games  should  be  encour- 
aged and  if  necessary  be  organized  and  contests  arranged. 
One  of  the  tests  of  an  officer's  fitness  for  his  commission  is  his 
ability  to  interest  his  men  in  such  matters.  Music  is  always 
stimulating,  and  martial  music  is  a  great  solace  in  the  discom- 
fort of  the  field.  Gambling,  to  which  many  men  will  resort  in 
the  absence  of  rational  amusement,  is  hurtful  physically  and 
morally.  It  tends  to  keep  men  out  of  the  fresh  air  in  crowded 
groups  and  constrained  positions,  it  encourages  nearly  all  of 
the  baser  emotions,  and  is  a  great  obstacle  to  discipline  in 
peace  or  war.  When  circumstances  permit,  short  marches, 
especially  with  all  the  forms  of  war,  are  exciting  and  instruc- 
tive. Commendatory  orders  by  the  brigade  and  regimental 
commanders  for  the  neatest  regimental  camps  and  company 
streets,  and  for  the  regiment  and  company  freest  from  pre- 
ventable disease,  encourage  the  better  men.  This  principle 
of  commendation  is  applicable  to  divisions  and  corps. 

There  are  two  great  classes  of  diseases,  the  intestinal  and 
the  malarial,  that  threaten  and  generally  afflict  an  army  in  the 
field  in  the  warmer  climates,  and  in  the  American  tropics  a 
third,  yellow  fever,  that  is  greatly  to  be  dreaded.  All  of  these 
are  preventable  in  the  sense  of  being  avoidable.  The  expos- 
ures of  field  life  are  often  followed  by  their  attacks,  but  they 
frequently  occur  because  perfectly  practicable  precautions 
have  been  neglected. 

The  intestinal  diseases  proper  that  befall  an  army,  especi- 
ally in  the  South,  are  temporary  looseness  of  the  bowels,  a 
debilitating  and  persistent  diarrhoea,  and  dysentery,  acute 
and  chronic,  always  serious  and  often  dangerous.  These  al! 
may  occur  in  succession  in  the  same  person.  Typhoid  fever, 
which  is  apt  to  invade  and  is  sure  to  spread  in  ill-kept  camps, 
has  its  main  seat  in  the  bowels  and  is  propagated  by  their  dis- 


348  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

charges.  All  these  are  avoidable  by  mature  and  healthy 
men;  or,  more  strictly,  they  only  occur  after  violation  of  per- 
sonal or  general  hygiene.  Malarial  infection  weakens  the 
natural  powers  of  resistance  and  may  complicate  any  of  the 
diseases  mentioned.  There  is  therefore  a  particular  reason 
for  guarding  against  it,  as  presently  to  be  described.  The 
cautions  to  be  observed  by  line  officers  in  these  respects  in 
the  care  of  those  under  them  are  as  follows: 

As  popularly  recognized,  errors  of  diet  are  a  common  cause 
of  diarrhoea.  Recruits  often  suffer  from  diarrhoea  even  in 
garrison,  simply  because  of  unaccustomed  food;  and  all  but 
seasoned  men  are  liable  to  it  when  the  conditions  of  camp 
cooking  are  first  encountered.  If  the  food  itself  is  sound  and 
is  properly  prepared,  this  will  soon  pass  away.  But  careful 
and  intelligent  supervision  of  the  kitchens  and  the  mess  is 
necessary. 

Water  quite  free  from  specific  disease-causes  may  induce 
diarrhoea,  that  may  become  very  serious  in  susceptible  per- 
sons. Hard  water,  chiefly  from  lime  and  magnesium  salts, 
may  be  modified  by  boiling.  But  generally  speaking,  the 
system  becomes  habituated  to  it,  especially  if  it  is  drank 
sparingly  at  first.  To  drink  from  alluvial  rivers  filled  with 
suspended  clay  will  induce  diarrhosa  in  unaccustomed  per- 
sons, and  sometimes  in  all.  Such  water  will  frequently  become 
clear  by  merely  standing  for  twenty-four  hours  (sedimenta- 
tion). Filtering  slowly  through  flannel  detains  much  of  the 
mud,  but  the  flannel  must  frequently  be  changed  or  washed. 
Chopped  cactus-leaves  have  a  clarifying  effect,  and  an  excellent 
agent  is  alum,  in  the  proportion  of  six  grains  to  the  gallon, 
stirred  in  the  water  to  carry  the  clay  down  as  a  precipitate. 
Some  such  precaution  is  necessary  with  the  water  of  muddy 
rivers.  Occasionally  it  is  found  that  water  charged  with 
vegetable  debris  causes  diarrhoea,  but  is  harmless  when 
filtered.  Brackish  water  from  near  the  sea  may  cause  diar- 
rhoea, when  the  only  preventive  would  be  distillation.  The 
same  is  true  of  alkaline  water.  A  small  but  effective  distilling 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD 


349 


apparatus  can  be  constructed  by  the  aid  of  a  kerosene  lamp, 
a  small  metal  tank,  a  few  feet  of  pipe,  and  a  receiving  vessel. 
This  is  not  nearly  as  complicated  as  it  appears,  is  very  port- 
able and  inexpensive,  and  is  particularly  adaptable  to  small 
commands.  The  stands  P  and  S  can  be  extemporized  in 
any  camp. 


Still  for  alkaline  water. 


S,  P,  stands. 

ab,  condensing  plates,  pressed  tin. 
a,  one  inch  deep;  b,  three  inches  deep. 


A,  tin  boiler. 

B,  tin  funnel-top. 

C,  sleeve  of  2-inch  pipe  D. 
E,  jar,  preferably  earthen. 

A  1-inch  tube  3  inches  long  is  soldered  to  the  top  of  a,  and  a  tube  2  inches  long, 
to  slide  into  the  other,  is  soldered  to  the  bottom  of  b. 

If  A  is  16  inches  square,  each  perpendicular  inch  will  contain  256  square  inches  or 
a  little  more  than  the  United  States  gallon  (231  inches). 

From  the  design  of  Major  Alfred  E.  Sears,  by  the  courtesy  of  The  Medical  Record. 

For  permanent  posts,  when  required,  the  Quartermaster's 
Department  will  supply  distilling  apparatus  on  a  large  scale, 
and  for  camps  where  the  water  is  doubtful  filters  and  steril- 
izers are  furnished.  Practicable  filters  of  sand  and  gravel  in 
casks  can  be  extemporized  in  the  field  for  temporary  use. 
But  boiling  is  the  safest  process. 

One,  but  not  the  sole  cause  of  dysentery,  very  serious  and 
very  common  in  the  tropics,  is  water  polluted  with  excremen- 
tal  matter,  particularly  with  the  discharges  from  a  previous 
case.  Once  introduced  it  is  liable  to  become  epidemic;  hence 


350  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

special  pains  should  be  taken  to  guard  the  water  from  the 
very  beginning,  to  avoid  old  camp-grounds  and  occasionally 
to  occupy  a  new  site.  Where  the  purity  of  the  water  is  main- 
tained, much  freedom  from  this  disease  is  assured.  Where 
the  water  is  impure  or  even  doubtful,  every  drop  drank  or 
used  with  food  should  be  boiled,  whether  in  camp  or  while 
marching.  With  fairly  disciplined  troops  this  is  perfectly 
feasible. 

Both  typhoid  fever  and  dysentery  may,  however,  be  propa- 
gated by  minute  particles  of  excreta,  or  the  bacteria  from 
them,  attached  to  food  or  driven  as  dust  into  the  mouth. 
Hence  scrupulous  police  care  should  be  enforced  within  the 
habitable  limits  of  the  camp  and  upon  its  confines.  It  is 
certain  that  the  painless  diarrhoea  of  the  unrecognized  first 
stage  of  true  typhoid  fever  is  infective,  which  is  an  additional 
reason  to  those  of  abstract  cleanliness  for  the  careful  control 
of  all  evacuations. 

Tropical  dysentery  is  very  persistent  and  readily  reasserts 
itself.  A  convalescent  therefrom  is  not  fit  for  the  field  until 
long  after  he  seems  to  be  well.  Typhoid  fever  disqualifies 
a  soldier  for  at  least  three  months,  on  account  of  changes  in 
some  of  the  inner  organs,  and  company  officers  should  always 
be  prepared  to  lose  the  services  of  such  men  for  prolonged 
periods. 

The  malarial  diseases  are  represented  by  the  intermittent 
fevers,  from  the  common  ague  to  the  crushing  pernicious  or 
congestive  chill  that  destroys  life  at  a  single  blow;  by  the 
remittent  (autumnal)  fevers,  from  those  familiar  to  most 
residents  of  the  southern  states  to  the  Chagres  and  jungle 
fevers  of  the  tropics;  and  by  complications  of  various  other 
well-known  diseases.  In  the  tropics  these  are  most  prevalent 
in  the  spring  and  autumn,  the  maximum  coinciding  with  the 
close  of  the  rainy  season. 

The  efficient  cause  of  malarial  disease  is  a  plasmodium  which 
in  various  forms,  infects  the  blood.  This  has  not  yet  been 
isolated  outside  of  the  human  body,  except  in  a  genus  of  the 


CARE  OF   TROOPS   IN   THE  FIELD  351 

mosquito  (anopheles)  which  acts  as  an  intermediate  host 
and  transfers  it  from  man  to  man.  This  demonstrated  fact 
completely  accounts  for  all  the  presumed  methods  of  its 
spread  formerly  accepted,  except  possibly  its  absorption  in 
drinking-water.  Those  most  susceptible  to  its  action  are  the 
weary,  hungry,  and  ill-conditioned,  and  those  weakened  by 
excesses.  If  the  possibility  of  drinking  infected  water  be 
rejected,  and  there  is  no  positive  evidence  that  the  disease 
may  be  communicated  in  that  way,  the  prevention  of  malaria 
in  the  field  is  summed  up  in  the  exclusion  of  the  mosquito. 
In  its  final  expression  this  is  by  the  use  of  nets  or  of  some 
deterrent  application.  Contributing  measures  are  such  as 
these:  In  selecting  a  dry  site  for  a  camp;  in  encamping  to  the 
windward  of  marshes;  in  avoiding  unnecessary  exposure  after 
the  sun  sets  and  until  it  has  well  risen;  in  being  reasonably 
clothed,  especially  during  sleep,  with  light  woollen  or  merino 
or  at  least  loosely-woven  cotton;  in  having  the  floor  of  the 
tent  or  sleeping-place  raised  several  feet  from  the  ground, 
which  is  practicable  in  permanent  camps,  and  is  important, 
but  is  rarely  done;  in  drinking  only  water  that  has  been  boiled, 
which  is  particularly  important  and  easily  arranged;  in 
supplying  the  men  on  night  duty  with  hot  food,  such  as  oat- 
meal gruel,  early  in  the  evening,  and  with  hot  coffee  and  hard 
bread  near  midnight  and  again  near  dawn;  and  in  the  system- 
atic preventive  use  of  quinine  for  those  particularly  exposed, 
and  of  curative  doses  on  the  slightest  suspicion  of  a  malarial 
invasion.  All  of  these  precautions  cannot  be  taken  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  the  enemy,  against  whom  military 
operations  of  attack  or  defence  may  be  of  primary  importance; 
but  it  is  astonishing  how  much  that  is  preventive  may  be  done 
ordinarily  by  systematic  and  intelligent  forethought.  The 
delay  of  a  few  nights  in  a  highly  malarious  region  may  weaken 
an  army  more  than  a  sharp  engagement.  Even  where  the 
locality  is  not  " pernicious"  in  the  technical  sense,  prolonged 
residence  in  an  unhealthy  situation  depresses  the  men  physi- 
cally and  morally  by  the  resulting  sickness  and  death.  For 


352  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

instance,  it  is  probable  that  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  not- 
withstanding it  'compelled  a  bloodless  evacuation,  lost  more 
men  during  the  month  it  lay  in  front  of  Yorktown  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  and  subsequently  as  a  consequence  of  that 
camp,  than  would  have  fallen  under  an  immediate  assault. 
Other  precautions  that  always  may  be  taken  are: 

(1)  Every  soldier  may  wear  a  light  woollen  suit  next  to  the 
skin.     That  is  a  matter  of  equipment  first  and  of  discipline 
afterward.     It  is  useless  to  supply  men  with  heavy  woollen 
underwear  in  a  hot  climate  and  to  expect  it  to  be  worn.     It 
becomes  insufferable,  and  will  be  abandoned  or  destroyed. 
The  temptation  with  ill-disciplined  troops  is  to  do  the  same 
even  with  very  light  flannel;  but,  partly  by  explanation  and 
partly  by  rigid  discipline,  they  may  be  held  to  it  until  it  is 
worn  willingly.     Its  habitual  use,  especially  at  night,  relieves 
the  body  from  the  risk  of  debilitating  chill. 

(2)  To  drink  only  water  that  has  been  well  and  compara- 
tively recently  boiled.     Water  for  a  company  may  be  boiled 
wherever  a  camp- kettle  can  be  carried;  and  every  man  can  boil 
his  own  allowance  whenever  he  can  make  an  individual  fire  for 
his  own  cup.     A  zealous  captain  will  see  that  his  men  actually 
fill  their  canteens  with  boiled  water  before  they  fall  in  for  the 
march,  and  that  while  in  camp  or  bivouac  they  drink  none 
that  is  raw.     Well-made  tea  (where  water  that  has  boiled  must 
be  used)  or  boiled  coffee  is  still  more  acceptable,  and  men 
should  be  encouraged  to  carry  tea  or  coffee  (in  a  vial  for  econ- 
omy) and  to  boil  the  water  in  their  own  cups  on  making  camp. 
A  canteen  of  tea  is  more  desirable  than  one  of  plain  water. 
The  object  in  drinking  only  boiled  water  is  the  exclusion  of 
any  other  depressing  pollution,  as  the  bacillus  of  typhoid  fever, 
quite  regardless  of  the  possible  presence  of  the  malarial  plas- 
modium  or  its  antecedent.     But  "it  is  regarded  as  not  impos- 
sible that  the  drinking  of  water  contaminated  by  these  insects 
[mosquitoes]  .  .  .  may  have  a  part  in  the  dissemination"  [of 
malarial  fever].     (Harrington.)     To  boil  the  water  devitalizes 
the  plasmodium. 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD  353 

(3)  When  deprived  of  the  conveniences  of  camp,  as  here 
supposed,  preventive  doses  of  quinine  should  not  only  be 
dispensed  but  administered,  and  that  without  whiskey.  It 
is  as  absurd  to  campaign  within  range  of  malaria  without  using 
quinine  as  it  would  be  to  go  into  battle  without  ammunition. 
But  the  use  of  alcohol  before  or  during  such  exposure  opens 
the  system  to  its  attack.  Hot  and  tolerably  strong  coffee  is 
an  -excellent  tonic  under  such  conditions. 

The  foregoing  represents  nearly  everything  that  can  be  done 
under  those  emergencies  which  compel  active  movements  in 
malarial  tracts. 

Yellow  fever  is  now  known  to  be  transmitted  from  man  to 
man  by  the  agency  of  the  mosquito  (Stegomyia  calopus),  pre- 
cisely as  the  malarial  disease  is  spread  by  the  anopheles.  It 
is  not  known  to  be  propagated  in  any  other  way,  and  the 
disease-cause  has  not  yet  been  discovered  outside  of  man  and 
this  insect.  Hence  protection  consists  in  avoiding  the  infected 
mosquito,  and  prevention  is  concerned  with  destroying,  pri- 
marily, all  the  insects  thus  contaminated  and,  secondarily, 
those  capable  of  becoming  an  intermediate  host.  The  Army 
Commission  under  Major  Walter  Reed  determined  definitely 
that  everything  outside  of  these  living  bodies  may  be  disre- 
garded. The  incubation  in  man  does  not  exceed  five  days. 
Therefore  any  well  man  may  be  admitted  from  an  infected 
district  without  fear  after  that  period  of  isolation  has  elapsed. 
The  infected  mosquito  requires  twelve  days  for  the  infection 
to  develop.  It  follows  that  all  mosquitoes  that  have  not 
been  in  contact  with  a  yellow-fever  case  for  a  little  more  than 
twelve  days  are  harmless.  But  once  infected,  it  is  believed 
that  the  insect  may  cause  the  disease  for  an  almost  indefinite 
time,  certainly  after  a  period  of  prolonged  hibernation.  In 
the  field  yellow  fever,  having  occurred,  will  ravage  a  non- 
immune  command  while  it  remains  where  the  disease  appeared. 
Ultimate  military  success  will  therefore  best  be  attained  by 
effectually  avoiding  places  known  to  be  infected.  Even  in 
the  tropics  the  removal  of  an  infected  command  from  bodies 


354  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

of  water  and  to  a  height  of  1,000  feet  will  often  check  the 
epidemic.  In  more  temperate  climates  to  transfer  the  troops, 
sometimes  only  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  into  a  drier  and  some- 
what higher  atmosphere  will  generally  cause  the  disease  to 
cease.  In  both  cases  presumably  this  is  because  the  Stego- 
myia  does  not  breed  there,  although  such  local  exemption  has 
not  yet  been  demonstrated.  Should  the  command  remain 
stationary  after  the  disease  appears,  every  man  who  has  not 
previously  had  it  will  certainly  be  attacked  as  long  as  infecting 
mosquitoes  can  reach  him.  The  accession  of  frost  sets  the 
only  natural  limitation  to  their  ravages.  The  mortality  from 
yellow  fever  is  always  high,  and  men  broken  by  excess,  espe- 
cially alcoholics,  almost  certainly  succumb  when  attacked. 
It  is  the  true  policy,  whenever  practicable,  to  manoeuvre  one- 
self out  of  and  the  enemy  into  the  yellow-fever  region.  Both 
malarial  and  yellow-fever  cases  are  always  to  be  regarded  as 
infecting  centres,  not  to  be  avoided  by  the  well  for  fear  of 
direct  infection,  but  to  be  protected  by  netting  and  otherwise 
from  those  insects  that  imbibe,  develop,  and  transmit  such 
infection. 

Independently  of  specific  causes  of  diseases  as  noted  above, 
there  are  other  avoidable  conditions  which  frequently  lead  to 
illness  in  warm  climates.  One  of  the  most  important  is  the 
effect  of  heat  and  cold,  and  particularly  changes  from  one  to 
the  other,  in  causing  diarrhoea  and  dysentery.  Men  become 
chilled  at  night,  or  by  the  evaporation  of  perspiration  after 
exertion,  when  the  bowels  soon  suffer.  Systematic  attention 
to  so  simple  a  matter  as  insuring  that  men  are  properly  covered 
at  night  is  important.  Young  soldiers,  and  particularly  those 
unaccustomed  to  camp,  cannot  be  depended  upon  to  care  for 
themselves,  but  the  captain  who  makes  sure  that  his  men  are 
thus  protected  will  be  certain  of  a  stronger  and  more  willing 
command.  The  bowels  lie  so  near  the  wall  of  the  abdomen 
that  the  circulation  there,  on  whose  disturbance  this  form  of 
diarrhoea  primarily  depends,  is  easily  deranged  by  changes  of 
temperature. 


CARE  OF   TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD  355 

The  cummerbund  of  the  Asiatics  and  the  cholera  belt  of 
Eastern  travellers,  evolved  by  experience,  are  intended  to 
equalize  the  abdominal  circulation.  More  convenient  than 
these  and  more  efficient  is  a  flannel  apron,  of  one  or  two 
thicknesses,  from  14  to  18  inches  in  width  and  from  6  to  8  in 
depth,  tied  by  a  tape  around  the  waist  and  worn  directly 
next  the  skin.  This  apron  is  quite  different  from  the  official 
belt  that  has  been  issued,  which  is  apt,  when  it  is  unwillingly 
worn,  to  become  an  ineffectual  and  annoying  roll  about  the 
waist.  It  lies  in  place,  is  easily  tolerated,  and  generally 
prevents  or  controls  the  simple  diarrhoea  and  light  dysentery  of 
either  hot  or  cold  climates  that  depend  upon  disturbances  of 
the  local  circulation.  The  apron  is  not  issued  by  the  govern- 
ment, but  it  is  procurable,  and  every  commanding  officer  in 
hot  climates  should  insist  that  his  men  are  provided  with  two 
apiece,  and  should  verify  by  irregular  inspections  that  one  of 
them  is  constantly  worn.  To  some  officers  such  attention 
to  the  individual  men  as  is  implied  in  these  paragraphs  does 
not  appeal.  But  to  those  who  remember  how  frequently  sol- 
diers are  exposed  to  illness,  partly  from  ignorance  and  partly 
from  helplessness,  this  form  of  duty  becomes  a  pleasure  that 
meets  a  most  effectual  reward. 

One  of  the  direct  effects  of  extreme  heat  is  sunstroke,  or 
heat-exhaustion,  and  when  high  temperature  is  long  continued 
there  is  a  general  depression  quite  independent  of  such  direct 
causes  as  the  malarial  or  other  poisons.  The  head  covering 
should  be  light  in  weight  and  in  color,  be  permeable  to  the  air, 
and  have  an  air-space  all  around  as  well  as  above  the  head. 
When  directly  exposed  to  the  sun,  a  wet  sponge  or  wet  muslin 
worn  in  the  crown  lessens  the  risk.  Experience  shows  that 
the  second  great  nervous  centre,  the  spinal  cord,  should  not 
be  exposed  directly  to  the  sun  for  a  length  of  time.  All  the 
clothing  should  be  loose,  especially  about  the  neck  and  chest, 
and  the  pack  that  may  require  to  be  borne  should  stand  away 
from  the  body.  The  general  depression  from  long-continued 
heat  is  intensified  in  a  moist  climate  by  imperfect  ventilation. 


356  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

As  the  companies  fall  in  for  a  march  or  similar  duty,  in- 
spection of  canteens  should  show  them  filled  with  pure  water, 
preferably  boiled,  or  weak  tea.  In  temperate  climates  men 
should  be  discouraged  from  drinking  en  route.  Once  begun, 
the  almost  irresistible  temptation  is  to  drink  frequently  and 
then  to  replenish  the  canteen  from  the  nearest  water  regard- 
less of  quality.  The  sensation  of  ordinary  thirst  arises  from 
dryness  of  the  fauces,  and  if  these  are  moistened  by  the  saliva 
excited  by  chewing  there  is  great  relief.  To  that  end  it  is 
better  to  supply  the  system  by  a  reasonable  draught  of  water 
before  starting,  and  to  keep  a  pebble  or  a  bit  of  wood  in  the 
mouth  to  excite  moisture,  but  not  to  drink  a  drop,  except 
there  may  be  a  halt  for  luncheon,  until  the  camp  for  the  day 
is  in  sight.  In  the  tropics  this  rule  must  be  somewhat  modi- 
fied, for  too  great  loss  of  fluid  by  perspiration  predisposes  to 
heat  prostration,  and  a  part  of  the  liquid  must  be  replaced. 
But  whatever  is  drank  while  marching  should  be  limited  in 
amount  and  be  taken  at  considerable  intervals,  and  the  men 
should  be  particularly  cautioned  against  drinking  much  early 
on  the  way.  Exact  and  arbitrary  control  over  the  use  of 
the  canteen  is  impracticable  and  would  be  unwise,  but  through 
their  non-commissioned  officers  the  privates  must  constantly 
be  instructed,  until  from  reason  and  experience  the  habit  of 
abstinence  is  acquired  and  they  learn  that  tropical  water 
must  be  boiled.  But,  as  Smart  points  out,  under  a  blazing 
tropical  sun  a  fulminant  heat-stroke  is  better  avoided  by 
using  a  stinted  but  steady  supply  than  by  drinking  copiously 
with  a  period  of  enforced  abstinence  following. 

The  question  of  diet  in  an  unaccustomed  climate  is  a  vexed 
one.  It  is  a  good  general  rule  to  follow  the  habits  of  intelli- 
gent natives  without  changing  too  suddenly  from  the  usual 
food.  All  food  in  hot  climates  is  prone  to  decay,  but  nothing 
should  be  eaten  that  is  open  to  suspicion.  Natives  frequently 
consume  decomposing  food  with  impunity,  and  in  that  respect 
their  example  is  not  to  be  followed.  When  ripe  and  per- 
fectly sound,  fruit  is  generally  unobjectionable;  but  within 


CARE  OF  TROOPS  IN  THE  FIELD  357 

the  tropics  the  least  spot  upon  it  indicating  decay  should 
condemn  the  whole.  The  difficulty  of  enforcing  this  rule 
with  soldiers  leads  to  the  more  general  one  of  forbidding  all 
fruit.  This  is  not  a  necessity,  but  is  an  effort  to  avoid  a  fre- 
quent evil. 

Alcohol  in  any  form  and  to  any  degree  as  a  beverage  is 
harmful,  and  when  taken  beyond  moderation  is  dangerous. 
It  is  true  the  world  over  that  a  drunken  camp  is  a  sickly 
camp,  and  in  hot  climates  drinking,  even  short  of  excess, 
tends  directly  to  disease. 

Properly  to  conduct  a  march  requires  experience,  or  a 
greater  attention  to  theory  than  frequently  is  given.  Except 
the  necessity  be  very  pressing,  the  first  march  with  troops 
unseasoned  in  marching,  however  well  they  may  be  drilled 
otherwise,  should  be  but  a  very  few  miles,  barely  enough 
to  clear  the  old  camps,  for  at  the  outset  there  is  friction 
everywhere.  Each  day's  march  may  be  gradually  increased 
until  in  about  a  fortnight  the  maximum  will  be  reached. 
By  this  gradual  development  much  better  results  can  be 
secured  in  a  given  time  than  would  be  were  a  specified 
distance  equally  divided  through  a  given  number  of  days. 
Every  eight  or  ten  days,  besides  Sundays,  there  should  be  a 
halt  for  rest  and  repairs.  Under  pressure  seasoned  infantry 
will  make  almost  incredible  distances  and  great  speed,  as 
witness  Crawfurd's  Light  Division  in  the  Peninsular  War  and 
"  Stonewall  "  Jackson's  command  in  our  Civil  War.  Enthu- 
siastic cavalrymen  are  unwilling  to  admit  it,  but  it  appears 
true  that  seasoned  infantry  will  outmarch  mounted  troops 
in  a  long  campaign.  Good  marching  is  the  complement  of 
good  fighting,  and  the  most  famous  and  effective  troops  are 
those  that  reach  the  objective  the  soonest;  but  no  troops  can 
march  their  best  until  they  are  taught.  The  ease  with  which 
troops  march  is  inversely  to  the  size  of  the  command;  thus  a 
regiment  moves  more  easily  than  a  division,  a  division  better 
than  a  corps.  Over  good  roads  fourteen  miles  in  ten  hours 
is  good  marching  for  a  large  army,  but  a  regiment  will  easily 


358  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

make  that  distance  in  four  hours  including  halts.  Infantry 
and  mounted  troops  should  not  march  together  if  it  can  be 
avoided,  and  infantry  should  march  with  as  wide  a  front  and 
in  as  open  order  as  possible,  for  crowd-poisoning  follows  the 
collection  of  dirty,  heated  men  out  of  doors  as  well  as  within 
houses.  After  the  first  few  regiments,  troops  almost  invari- 
ably march  in  dust  or  mud,  and  close  order  is  very  distressing. 
With  a  large  command,  if  it  is  possible  to  move  troops  in 
columns  parallel  to  the  roads  so  as  to  leave  these  free  for  the 
trains,  it  should  always  be  done,  for  it  is  a  great  comfort  to 
have  the  wagons  at  hand  when  camp  is  made.  Unless  the 
command  is  very  small,  the  men  should  be  required  to  pay 
no  attention  to  the  minor  obstacles  of  mud,  water,  and  the 
like:  for  hesitation  in  the  leading  files  is  magnified  into  serious 
halts  at  the  rear,  and  a  jerky  progress  is  very  trying.  But  it 
is  an  economy  of  time  to  have  fallen  trees  that  partly  obstruct 
the  way  entirely  removed.  Under  the  best  circumstances  even 
good  troops  will  lose  distance,  and  frequent  halts  are  neces- 
sary or  the  rear  will  be  a  state  of  perpetual  worry  in  the  effort 
to  close  up.  No  particular  command  should  be  moved  on 
until  it  is  well  closed  up  in  the  rear  and  the  rear  ranks  have 
rested.  The  first  halt  would  better  be  at  the  end  of  half  an 
hour,  and  be  used  by  the  men  in  relieving  themselves  and 
adjusting  their  clothes  and  their  burdens.  There  should  be 
a  halt  for  five  or  ten  minutes  (as  prescribed)  at  the  end  of 
every  subsequent  hour,  when  the  men  should  be  encouraged 
to  spread  out  and  rest,  but  never  be  allowed  to  straggle  from 
the  column  for  any  purpose.  The  length  of  all  occasional 
halts  when  foreseen  should  be  announced  at  the  beginning 
and  passed  down  the  column,  for  uncertainty  destroys  much 
of  the  benefit  of  the  rest.  Even  in  those  accidental  stops 
that  occur  in  every  column,  should  the  regimental  or  other 
commanders  take  pains  to  discover  the  probable  delay  and 
communicate  it  by  special  signal  in  order  that  the  men  might 
rest,  their  strength  and  temper  would  be  much  conserved. 
Few  conditions  are  more  trying  to  men  under  arms  than  to 


CARE  OF   TROOPS  IN   THE  FIELD  359 

await  on  their  feet  an  uncertain  advance.  The  French  use 
a  device  to  save  time  in  resuming  the  march  and  to  keep  the 
men  out  of  the  mud,  where  squads  of  twenty  or  thirty  form  a 
circle  and  each  man  sits  on  the  knees  of  the  man  in  rear.  At 
formal  halts  to  get  the  full  advantage  of  rest  the  men  should 
lie  flat  on  their  backs  with  their  belts  loosened,  but  with  a 
slicker  or  other  protection  between  their  bodies  and  damp 
ground. 

Straggling,  the  loitering  behind  of  the  sick,  the  tired,  the 
lazy,  the  ill-disciplinedj  is  an  evil  indirectly  affecting  the 
health  and  the  morale,  and  directly  concerning  the  military 
vigor  of  the  column.  Its  prevention,  so  far  as  those  out  of 
health  are  concerned,  depends  upon  the  prompt  and  rigid 
scrutiny  by  the  medical  officers  of  all  who  fall  out  claiming 
to  be  sick  and  their  immediate  disposition.  All  not  adjudged 
sick  should  be  promptly  returned  to  the  ranks  or,  in  common 
with  the  other  stragglers,  be  taken  in  charge  by  the  provost 
guard.  It  is  better  that  those  really  unfit  should  be  provided 
with  a  formal  ticket  describing  them,  naming  their  presumed 
disability  and  distinctly  defining  from  what  they  are  excused. 
Such  details,  however,  may  safely  be  left  to  the  administration 
of  the  medical  department.  But  any  man  out  of  ranks  with- 
out the  written  permission  of  his  company  commander  on  a 
prearranged  card  should  be  assumed  a  straggler,  unless  show- 
ing prima  facie  evidence  of  illness.  Men  fairly  tired  out  will 
often  be  brought  up  fresh  at  the  end  of  a  few  hours'  transpor- 
tation, but  this  privilege  is  so  liable  to  abuse  that  it  should 
rarely  be  given.  But  the  really  ill  are  to  be  carefully  carried, 
for  with  good  troops  one  should  take  the  most  thoughtful 
care  of  them,  because  then  they  will  put  forth  their  best 
efforts  in  the  belief  that  they  will  be  protected  and  restored 
when  disabled.  For  this  reason,  among  others,  it  is  important 
that  its  ambulance-train  should  immediately  follow  each 
division.  Under  exceptional  circumstances  one  or  more 
ambulances  should  accompany  each  brigade. 

The  music  of  the  fife  and  drum  is  of  material  assistance  to 


360  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

a  tired  column,  and  even  the  steady  drum  tap  alone  helps 
the  pace  of  the  weary.  The  men  should  always  be  encouraged 
to  sing  on  the  march,  for  the  more  cheerful  a  command  the 
more  easily  it  moves. 

It  is  usually  an  error  to  break  camp  before  day,  as  is  some- 
times done,  and  night  marches  are  to  be  avoided  if  possible. 
In  non-malarious  regions  in  hot  weather  an  occasional  night 
march  under  a  light  moon  is  a  relief,  but  as  a  rule  the  loss  of 
sleep  and  the  general  discomfort  thus  caused  out-balance 
any  ordinary  advantage.  Should  a  military  necessity  compel 
a  night  march  in  a  malarious  region,  a  preventive  dose  of 
quinine  ought  to  be  administered  to  every  one  involved,  as 
should  be  done  in  other  night  duty.  In  a  very  hot  climate 
marches  should  be  so  regulated  that  the  sun  may  not  shine 
directly  on  the  men's  backs,  because  extreme  heat  on  the 
spinal  column  is  harmful.  This  is  important  and  frequently 
has  been  neglected. 

In  conclusion,  it  must  always  be  remembered  that  men 
abruptly  transferred  from  civil  life  to  the  field  have  new  and 
artificial  circumstances  to  which  to  adapt  themselves,  and  in 
proportion  as  their  own  freedom  of  action  is  restrained  does 
the  responsibility  of  the  officers  in  direct  command  increase. 
That  responsibility  is  not  limited  to  instruction  in  drill,  but 
runs,  coequal  with  their  authority,  over  every  condition  and 
detail  of  military  life.  The  care  of  troops  is  a  serious  and 
constant  matter  of  daily  duty,  which  may  be  neglected  but 
cannot  be  evaded;  and  as  a  rule  the  proportion  of  men  present- 
ing themselves  as  sick  is  an  index  of  the  intelligence  and 
fidelity  with  which  that  duty  is  discharged.  For,  reduced  to 
its  final  expression,  the  efficiency  of  a  command  is  measured 
by  the  intelligent  care  that  has  been  bestowed  upon  it. 


XXXIII 

ASEPSIS   AS   APPLIED   TO   WOUNDS 

IN  addition  to  the  mechanical  injury  inflicted  by  a  bullet, 
the  wound  is  liable  to  inflammation  and  discharge.  That 
was  formerly  regarded  as  necessary  after  gunshot.  It  is  now 
known  that  the  inflammation  is  incited  by  the  presence  of 
infinitesimal  forms  of  life  called  bacteria.  These  prevail  on 
the  surface  of  all  substances,  animate  and  inanimate,  not 
made  aseptic  by  special  treatment,  and  invariably  are  intro- 
duced in  wounds  when  probed  or  handled  on  the  field.  If 
they  are  excluded,  most  wounds  not  fatal  in  themselves  can 
be  treated  successfully.  But  usually  wounds  become  infected 
before  a  medical  officer  sees  them.  It  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance for  the  men  to  understand  that  there  should  be  no 
interference  even  with  the  surface  of  any  wound,  but  that  it 
should  be  immediately  covered  with  the  preventive  dressing 
that  every  soldier  carries.  If  that  is  done  at  once,  and  the 
hand,  the  clothing,  and  other  foreign  matters  are  kept  away, 
there  is  a  fair  prospect  of  recovery  in  those  cases  that  are  not 
by  their  very  nature  and  degree  immediately  fatal.  This 
doctrine  of  non-interference  and  of  aseptic  dressing  should 
be  taught  at  every  opportunity. 

The  first-aid  packet,  which  is  part  of  the  equipment  of 
every  soldier,  contains  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  immediate 
care  of  any  wound  that  is  not  complicated  with  severe  haemor- 
rhage or  with  the  fracture  of  a  large  bone.  The  experience  of 
late  wars  shows  that  not  only  much  surgical  illness  and  suffer- 
ing have  been  avoided,  but  many  lives  have  been  saved, 
by  the  immediate  application  of  those  dressings  as  directed, 
and  by  abstention  from  unprofessional  interference  before  or 
afterward.  Foreign  bodies,  including  the  bacteria,  are  kept 

361 


362  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

out,  so  that  the  natural  processes  of  healing  begin  and  go  on 
without  interruption.  The  results  expected  to  follow  that 
simple  procedure  are  so  remarkable  that  the  average  soldier 
is  incredulous  that  they  will  occur.  He  thinks  that  something 
more  should  be  done  at  the  time,  and  he  fails  to  recognize  the 
importance  of  the  plain  instruction  to  apply  these  sterilized 
dressings  and  to  abstain  from  meddling.  On  this  account 
the  primary  treatment  and  the  consecutive  non-interference 
should  be  a  matter  of  formal  and  peremptory  military  precept 
from  the  company  officers,  as  well  as  of  general  explanation 
from  the  medical  officers. 

The  natural  ignorance  on  the  soldier's  part  of  the  real 
value  of  the  first-aid  packets,  and  his  scepticism  as  to  their 
importance  even  when  that  is  explained,  as  well  perhaps  as  the 
readiness  with  which  they  are  replaced  gratuitously  when 
lost  or  destroyed,  lead  him  to  think  lightly  of  keeping  them 
intact,  or  indeed  of  keeping  them  at  all.  They  are  acceptable 
as  wash-cloths  and  convenient  for  gun-rags,  and  where  there 
is  not  reasonable  discipline  very  many  of  them  are  wasted  in 
that  way.  Besides,  enormous  numbers  have  been  spoiled 
in  tropical  field  service  through  humidity  and  by  friction 
against  other  objects.  When  the  moderately  water-proof 
covering  is  damaged,  the  usefulness  of  the  packet  is  dimin- 
ished if  not  destroyed.  The  remedy  is  not  merely  to  assign 
the  packet  to  a  defined  position  in  a  proper  receptacle,  so  that 
it  will  always  be  carried  by  the  man  in  the  same  place  and 
may  be  found  readily,  but  also  to  hold  the  soldier  to  the  same 
responsibility  for  it  that  he  has  for  other  public  property,  and 
to  verify  its  presence  and  its  good  condition  by  frequent 
formal  inspections.  When  the  soldier  habitually  regards  it 
as  United  States  property  for  which  there  is  accountability, 
and  not  as  a  personal  perquisite,  he  will  pay  it  more  respect. 


XXXIV 

SCHEME   FOR   A   SANITARY   INSPECTION    BY    COMPANY 

OFFICERS 

In  Garrison 

Squad-room:  Capacity  and  permissible  number  of  occupants 
according  to  the  sanitary  standard.  Number  who  slept  in  the 
squad-room  last  night.  Maximum  number  present  at  any  time- 
since  last  inspection,  with  date.  Floor-space  per  bunk.  Air-space 
per  occupant,  disregarding  height  above  12  feet  and  taking  account 
of  objects  in  the  apartment. 

Illumination,  natural:  Arrangement  and  sufficiency. 

Illumination,  artificial:  Method;  number  of  lights;  sufficiency  for 
comfort ;  influence  upon  the  air. 

Sunlight:  Does  direct  sunlight  reach  all  parts  of  the  room  at  some 
time  of  the  day?  If  not,  explain. 

Heating:  Method;  relation  to  comfort  of  inmates;  relation  to  air, 
by  escape  of  CO  or  otherwise. 

Ventilation:  Style  and  sufficiency.  Observe  carefully  at  irregular 
intervals,  and  especially  at  night,  whether  the  openings  remain 
unobstructed.  Is  the  whole  room  air-swept  daily? 

Odor:  Note  the  degree  of  odor,  if  any,  soon  after  midnight  and 
again  before  dawn,  and  the  state  of  the  ventilating  apparatus  then. 

Bunks  and  bedding:  Inspect  minutely  some  particular  bunk  for 
general  cleanliness,  and  especially  for  freedom  from  vermin;  inspect 
several  for  objects  under  the  pillow  or  mattress,  as  soiled  clothes, 
food,  tobacco.  Examine  the  under  side  of  an  occasional  mattress 
for  dust.  How  frequently  and  completely  is  the  bedding  exposed 
out  of  doors? 

Cuspidors:  Kind,  number,  and  condition. 

Floors:  Are  they  clean  and  dry?  How  are  they  habitually 
cleansed?  Are  they  ever  damp? 

Walls  and  ceilings:  Are  they  clean  and  unstained  by  smoke  or 
otherwise?  When  were  they  lime-washed,  or  they  and  the  wood- 
work painted?  Examine  corners,  the  tops  of  the  lower  sashes,  and 
behind  boxes. 

Lockers:  Examine,  not  merely  for  order,  but  for  dust  or  dirt  and 
odor. 

363 


364  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

Barrack  bags:  Empty  one  or  two  at  every  inspection,  to  make 
certain  that  no  improper  or  contraband  articles  are  therein  con- 
cealed. 

Clothing  not  on  the  person:  Is  the  uniform  clean?  Is  the  under- 
clothing clean,  or  properly  set  apart  for  the  wash?  Examine  care- 
fully the  soles  of  spare  shoes.  No  shoe  should  bring  in  dirt  from  out 
of  doors. 

Clothing  on  the  person:  Open  the  coats,  examine  the  shirt,  under- 
shirt, and  the  surface  of  the  chest;  examine  one  foot  bare  and  the 
stocking  on  the  other  foot;  expose  and  inspect  the  lower  part  of  the 
drawers;  are  the  head  and  neck  and  the  inside  of  the  cap  clean? 
are  the  hair  and  beard  closely  trimmed?  (Excuse  non-commis- 
sioned officers  from  this  personal  inspection.) 

Flies:  If  there  are  many  flies,  determine  the  reason.  (Flies  imply 
the  presence  of  organic  debris.) 

Mosquitoes:  Are  there  adequate  nets?     Are  they  used? 

At  a  formal  inspection  insist  that  everything  commonly  in  the 
squad-room  is  in  place.  Allow  neither  necessary  nor  extra  articles 
to  be  hidden  —  "  put  away  on  account  of  inspection." 

Examine  every  occupied  -room,  especially  those  of  the  cooks  if 
they  sleep  out  of  the  squad-room,  in  the  same  manner. 

Examine  attic  and  general  store-rooms  cursorily,  to  see  that  no 
improper  articles,  as  food  or  soiled  clothes,  are  concealed  there. 

Mess-room:  Examine  it  and  the  table  furniture,  including  the 
under  side  of  the  table  if  it  is  reversible,  for  cleanliness.  Inspect 
carefully  the  insides  of  the  bowls  and  the  tines  of  the  forks.  Ex- 
amine also  table  furniture  not  actually  upon  the  table,  and  the 
floors  and  windows,  all  for  cleanliness. 

Water-coolers  and  pitchers:  Examine  the  interiors  carefully,  where- 
ever  found. 

Kitchen:  The  interior  of  all  cooking  utensils  should  be  scrupu- 
lously clean.  Examine  floors,  walls,  tables ,  and  plumbing,  including 
grease  trap,  if  any.  Knives,  cleavers,  strainers,  should  be  free  from 
debris.  Inspect  for  roaches  about  range  and  slop-sink.  Examine 
all  food,  whether  cooking  or  in  store.  Especially  in  hot  climates, 
see  that  no  food  is  decomposing.  Observe  carefully  the  presence  of 
flies.  Examine  the  interior  of  refrigerator  *  daily. 

Cellar:  Inspect  for  dryness,  ventilation,  freedom  from  odor,  and 
for  condition  of  contents. 

*  Kerosene  cleans  zinc,  with  which  refrigerators,  kitchen  sinks,  and 
washing  troughs  in  lavatories  are  lined-  But  much  food  takes  up  odors 
so  readily  that  it  may  only  be  used  in  refrigerators  and  other  fo^d  con- 
tainers when  there  is  abundant  opportunity  for  its  evaporation. 


SANITARY  INSPECTION  BY  LINE  OFFICERS       365 

Grounds:  Inspect  those  immediately  around  the  barracks  and 
under  the  verandas,  as  for  general  police  and  for  dryness.  Where 
there  is  no  cellar,  determine  the  condition  under  the  building. 

Garbage  barrels  or  cans:  How  frequently,  how  completely,  and 
in  what  manner  is  the  garbage  disposed  of?  Is  the  neighboring 
ground  polluted?  Follow  up  in  detail  the  disposal  of  waste. 

Sinks  and  urinals:  What  disposition  is  made  of  body  waste? 
Inspect  carefully  and  frequently  for  interior  and  exterior  cleanli- 
ness. If  the  sinks  or  urinals  give  out  odor,  ascertain  the  cause  and 
present  a  remedy.  If  urine  is  voided  in  unauthorized  places, 
determine  the  fact  and  stop  it. 

Wash-room:  *  Number  and  condition  of  basins,  overflow,  and 
floors. 

Bathing  facilities:  Examine  for  sufficiency,  for  cleanliness,  and  for 
frequency  of  use.  Be  satisfied  that  every  soldier  not  sick  bathes 
completely  at  stated  intervals,  and  that  the  showers  are  efficient. 

Waste  water:  Where  there  is  no  sewerage,  what  is  its  disposition? 

Guard-house:  Capacity,  cleanliness,  ventilation,  heating,  and 
number  of  occupants,  of  cells  and  of  prison  room  separately. 
Prisoners  may  properly  be  uncomfortable,  but  their  health  should 
not  be  allowed  to  suffer  in  the  least. 

Guard-room:  The  guard  should  not  be  unnecessarily  uncomfort- 
able and  their  apartments  should  be  well  ventilated,  not  unduly 
warm,  and  entirely  free  from  gross  dirt.  There  should  be  facilities 
for  preparing  a  hot  luncheon  for  the  reliefs  going  on  post  at  and 
after  midnight.  Clothing  and  blankets,  whether  of  the  guard  or  of 
prisoners,  should  be  inspected  or  treated  for  vermin  before  being 
re-introduced  into  the  barracks. 

Stables:  Ventilation,  light,  and  relation  of  windows  to  horses. 
Is  the  floor  dry?  If  sickness  among  horses,  examine  for  soil-moisture 
and,  if  necessary,  recommend  deep  drainage.  If  flies  are  numerous, 
determine  the  cause.  Note  the  disposition  of  liquid  waste  within 
and  of  the  general  manure  without  the  stables.  (Peat  moss  for 
bedding  prevents  ammoniacal  odor  in  the  stalls.) 

Married  men's  quarters:  Inspect  every  room  for  air-space,  ventila- 
tion, light,  and  general  cleanliness.  Inspect  the  cellar,  if  any,  for 
dampness  and  odor.  Observe  carefully  the  disposition  of  kitchen 
waste  and  of  laundry  slops. 

Privies:  In  those  posts  or  parts  of  posts  where  there  is  no  sewer- 
age the  privies  must  be  carefully  supervised  by  the  companies 
responsible,  and  every  one  should  be  inspected  once  a  week.  Where 
they  are  pits  they  should  be  filled  with  fresh  earth  when  within  two 

*  Kerosene  cleans  zinc  and  most  metal  work  well. 


366  MILITARY  HYGIENE 

feet  of  the  surface,  marked,  and  reported  to  the  quartermaster  to  be 
noted  on  the  post  map.  No  pit  for  this  purpose  should  be  dug  with- 
out authority  from  the  commanding  officer.  The  vicinity  of  stables, 
corrals,  wood-piles,  haystacks,  should  be  carefully  inspected  for 
superficial  pollution.  Each  company  must  carefully  guard  against 
contaminating  a  local  water-supply. 

In  the  Field 

Follow  as  far  as  applicable  the  form  for  garrison  inspection.    Also : 

Tents:  Character;  number  of  inmates;  ditched?  Whether  floored 
cr  not  floored,  is  the  ground  dry  and  clean?  How  much  above  the 
floor  is  the  bunk?  Is  the  canvas  sound?  How  ventilated,  heated? 
How  frequently  removed  to  new  site?  If  not  regularly  moved,  how 
frequently  struck?  Are  the  walls  raised  daily  in  fair  weather?  In 
the  warm  season,  to  leeward  at  night?  Is  unauthorized  material, 
particularly  food,  present?  In  a  malarious  region  do  the  men  have 
nets,  and  use  them? 

Huts:  Material;  size;  shape;  cubic  capacity;  mode  of  heating; 
ventilation ;  lighting ;  condition  of  floor ;  style  of  bunks ;  unauthorized 
material,  especially  food,  present ;  water-tight  or  not ;  dry  or  damp ; 
ditched  and  banked;  sickness  since  last  inspection;  lateral  distance 
between  huts;  distance  to  next  in  rear? 

Company  street:  Is  it  of  proper  width;  well  tamped;  ditched; 
dusty;  muddy;  well  policed?  Final  disposition  of  camp  waste? 
How  effective? 

Kitchen:  Cleanliness  of  ground,  tables,  utensils.  How  is  food 
protected  before  cooking?  after?  Distance  from  kitchen  sink; 
distance  from  nearest  part  of  company  street ;  direction  and  distance 
from  company  sinks;  prevailing  wind;  do  flies  appear  to  reach  the 
kitchen  from  company  sink,  directly  or  otherwise?  What  dis- 
position of  waste  from  kitchen? 

Mess-table:  If  such  a  table,  condition  of  it  and  the  adjacent  ground ; 
are  flies  there,  excepting  when  meals  are  served ;  how  are  individual 
utensils  cleansed?  Is  the  mess-table  screened?  If  no  mess-table, 
is  food  eaten  at  the  tents  or  at  the  kitchen?  If  at  the  tents,  are 
remains  of  food  found  there? 

Kitchen  sink:  Character;  ultimate  disposition  of  waste;  condition 
of  surrounding  ground;  is  it  flooded  by  rain  or  from  ground-water? 
is  it  treated  with  lime  or  any  other  disinfectant? 

Company  sink:  Situation  as  to  distance  and  direction  from  the 
nearest  company  street  and  company  kitchen,  with  prevailing  wind. 
Character;  length;  depth;  protection  from  sun,  rain,  observation? 


SANITARY  INSPECTION  BY  LINE  OFFICERS       367 

How  frequently  and  how  effectively  is  earth  thrown  in?  What 
other  disinfectants,  if  any,  introduced?  What  action  is  taken 
against  flies,  and  how  frequently?  Recommendation.  (Such  sinks 
should  be  covered  in  and  marked  before  breaking  camp,  and  when 
their  contents  approach  the  level  of  the  surface.) 

Camp  urinals:  How  placed  in  relation  to  company  streets;  how 
arranged;  how  cared  for;  are  there  signs  of  urination  elsewhere? 

Food:  Variety;  amount;  regularity  of  supply;  condition  when 
issued;  how  cooked;  waste  before  or  after  serving;  excess  or  insuffi- 
ciency of  any  particular  part  of  the  ration? 

Water-supply:  How  obtained  by  the  men ;  how  is  the  company 
supply  preserved ;  if  it  appears  to  affect  the  health  of  the  men,  how ; 
if  boiling  has  been  ordered,  is  any  drank  raw;  is  there  deficiency;  is 
there  waste ;  filtered  by  or  for  the  company,  how  and  how  effect- 
ively? 

The  soldier:  Are  his  uniform  and  equipment  sufficient  in  amount 
and  character;  is  there  spare  underclothing;  an  extra  pair  of  stock- 
ings; do  the  shoes  really  fit  (the  officer  should  satisfy  himself); 
are  the  feet  in  good  condition  (inspect) ;  if  feet  not  in  good  condition, 
fix  responsibility  and  report  it;  is  the  person  clean;  the  undercloth- 
ing clean;  hair  and  beard  cropped  close;  is  the  canteen  occasionally 
boiled  and  the  inside  always  kept  clean? 

For  the  march:  Again  inspect  the  feet;  inspect  the  kit  and  reject 
everything  not  authorized ;  inspect  canteen  and  allow  nothing  but 
pure  water  (boiled  in  the  tropics),  or  weak  tea,  and  explain  its 
proper  use ;  inspect  for  abdominal  apron  in  hot  or  cold  weather ;  in 
the  tropics  require  a  wet  cloth  or  sponge  in  the  hat;  in  hot  weather 
authorize  outer  garments  to  be  well  opened  when  marching  in  route 
step  or  at  ease,  to  facilitate  evaporation  from  the  body  and  to 
diminish  risk  of  heat  exhaustion.  At  halts,  men  when  fatigued, 
should  be  cautioned  to  lie  at  full  length  if  the  ground  permits,  or 
sitting,  to  lean  entirely  relaxed  against  a  tree  or  similar  support,  and 
to  loosen  their  belts. 


XXXV 

APPENDIX 
JAPANESE  TRAINING  IN   SANITATION 

BECAUSE  Japan  appears  to  lead  the  world  at  this  time  in  applied 
military  sanitation  and  has  made  a  record  for  other  armies  to 
attain,  the  training  employed  therein  is  summarized  as  follows 
from  the  official  Observations  on  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  by  Major 
Charles  Lynch,  Medical  Corps. 

The  candidate  for  a  commission  is  given  instruction  in  physiology 
for  two  hours  a  week  in  the  second  half  of  the  second  year  at  the 
local,  or  preparatory,  military  school;  while  serving  as  a  soldier  he 
receives  instruction  in  hygiene  from  the  medical  officers;  he  is 
further  instructed  in  the  sanitation  of  troops  at  the  Military  School; 
returning  to  the  ranks  he  learns  something  further  from  the  regi- 
mental medical  officers;  and  should  he  pass  through  the  Staff  Col- 
lege he  would  have  there  a  six  months'  advanced  course  in  hygiene. 
So  much  for  the  officers. 

The  men  receive  their  instruction  chiefly  from  their  medical  offi- 
cers and  in  a  slight  degree  from  the  line  officers,  and  this  is  arranged 
so  as  sufficiently  to  inform  the  soldier  how  to  preserve  his  health. 
On  occasion  this  is  supplemented  by  special  information,  and  the 
duty  of  maintaining  their  vigor  is  made  the  subject  of  patriotic 
appeal.  The  relation  of  the  officer  to  the  soldier,  which  is  like 
that  of  a  father  to  the  child,  and  the  constant  desire  on  the  part  of 
all  to  do  everything  for  the  common  good  are  particularly  favor- 
able to  instruction  as  occasion  demands,  without  nagging  or  arbi- 
trary interference.  "  Disobedience  of  orders  is  almost  unheard  of." 
The  authorities  in  general  and  the  higher  commanders  in  particu- 
lar fully  recognize  the  importance  of  good  hygiene  for  the  army, 
the  fundamental  idea  being  expressed  in  this  official  statement: 
"Disease  greatly  decreases  fighting  capacity  and  medical  [sanitary] 
instruction  of  officers  and  men  is  quite  as  important  as  their  in- 
struction in  combatant  duties,"  so  that  there  is  no  necessity  to 
create  a  sentiment  on  this  subject  among  those  directing  the  army. 
The  complement  of  this  is  found  in  the  calling  to  account  of  a  com- 
mander whose  force  suffers  from  disease  to  what  is  believed  an 

368 


JAPANESE   TRAINING  IN  SANITATION  369 

unwarranted  extent,  and  a  soldier  who  returns  home  with  a  pre- 
ventable disease  is  made  by  his  friends  and  his  family  to  realize 
that  he  has  been  a  credit  neither  to  his  country  nor  to  them. 

Other  services  convinced  of  its  importance  may  wisely  take 
similar  official  action  in  relation  to  sanitation,  but  equal  results 
will  follow  only  that  patriotic  discipline  which  without  oversight 
executes  to  the  letter  sanitary  orders  as  well  as  other  commands, 
however  irksome,  because  they  are  for  the  public  good.  Until 
that  form  of  practical  patriotism  becomes  inbred,  our  soldiers  will 
fail  in  doing  their  part  and  will  suffer  accordingly. 

The  conclusion  reached  is  this:  "The  sanitation  of  the  Japanese 
army,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  was  good.  While  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  recommendations  rested  upon  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment, it  must  be  recognized  that  their  enforcement  depended  to  a 
great  extent  on  the  line  commanders  and  on  the  men  themselves. 
The  good  health  of  the  command  as  a  whole  was,  therefore,  largely 
dependent  on  the  recognition  of  the  importance  of  good  hygiene  to 
maintain  the  effectiveness  of  the  army  by  officers  and  men  gener- 
ally. That  they  did  recognize  this  may  mainly  be  ascribed  to 
their  thorough  practical  education  on  sanitary  matters.  The  re- 
sponsibility imposed  on  higher  commanders  for  the  health  of  their 
forces  was  also  a  potent  element  in  securing  good  hygiene.  It 
should  be  noted,  moreover,  that  the  material  of  which  the  army 
was  composed  was  excellent  physically,  as  it  was  selected  by  the 
medical  department  only  after  rigid  examination,  and  physically 
unfit  men  were  promptly  gotten  rid  of  by  the  same  department. 
The  good  health  of  the  army,  as  a  whole,  was  undoubtedly  much 
promoted  thereby."  (Med.  06s.,  p.  208  ) 


USEFUL  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE 

(In  each  case  the  latest  edition) 

Growth  of  the  Recruit  and  Young  Soldier.     Sir  Wm.  Aitken. 
Epitome  of  Tripler's  Manual.     Gen.  C.  R.  Greenleaf. 
Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Hygiene.     Dr.  Jerome  Walker. 
The  Human  Body  (School  edition).     Dr.  H.  N.  Martin. 
Soldier's  Pocket-book.     Lord  Wolseley. 
Theory  and  Practice  of  Hygiene.     Notter  and  Firth. 
Handbook  of  Hygiene.     Lt.  Col.  A.  M.  Davies,  R.A.M.C. 
Practical  Hygiene.     Dr.  Charles  Harrington. 
Military  Hygiene.     Major  E.  L.  Munson,  Med.  Corps. 
Manual  of  Military  Hygiene.     Col.  V.  Havard,  Med.  Corps. 
Typhoid  Fever.     Geo.  C.  Whipple,  C.  E. 
Principles  of  Sanitary  Science.     W.  T.  Sedgwick. 
Chemistry  of  Cookery.     M.  Williams. 
Healthy  Foundations  for  Houses.     Glenn  Brown. 
How  to  Drain  a  House.     G.  E.  Waring,  Jr. 
House  Drainage  and  Sanitary  Plumbing.     W.  P.  Gerhard. 
Rural  Hygiene.     Dr.  G.  V.  Poore. 
Sanitary  Engineering;  Sewerage.     Baldwin  Latham. 
Principles  of  Ventilation  and  Heating.     Dr.  J.  S.  Billings. 
Water-supply.     W.  P.  Mason. 


370 


INDEX 


Abdomen,  protection  of,  354. 
Abdominal  band,  77. 

protector,  77,  355. 
Absinthe,  effects  of,  153. 
Acetylene  gas,  175. 
Acids  antagonistic  to  cholera,  321. 
Actinic  influence,  59. 
Adobe  buildings,  165. 
Agave  americana  in  scurvy,  148. 
Age  limits,  military,  16. 

maximum,  military,  19. 
"Air  of  a  place,"  154. 
Air,  composition  of,  169. 

contamination  of,  170,  174,  185. 
odor  test  for,  177. 

currents,  189. 

fresh  warm,  188. 

inlets  for,  189,  191. 

health,  relation  to,  of,  179,  185. 

outlets  for,  188,  190,  192. 

renewal  of,  184. 

shafts,  191. 

squad-rooms,  of,  178. 
Air-space  in  barracks,  173,  182. 

in  hospitals,  173. 
Air-supply,  inspection  of,  194. 

purity  of,  194. 

rate  of,  189. 
Alcohol,  composition  of,  152. 

effect    of,    on    body- temperature, 

150. 

brain,  on  the,  149. 
work,  on,  149. 

food,  as,  149. 

medicine,  as,  152. 

methyl,  153. 

tropics,  in  the,  357. 

wood,  153. 
Algae  in  water,  271. 
Alum  in  bread,  125. 

in  water,  use  of,  270. 
Ambulances  on  the  march,  254. 
Amusement  in  camp  and  garrison, 
214,  346. 


Animal  charcoal,  277. 
Animals,  diseased,  as  food,  116. 
Anopheles  mosquito,  298. 
Anthrax  in  food  animals,  117. 
Antiscorbutics,  147. 
Anti- toxins,  7. 

of  diphtheria,  325. 
Appearance,  military  pride  in,  63. 
Apples,  134. 

Apprentices,  military,  19.  . 
Aprons,  abdominal,  77,  355. 
Area,  barrack,  per  man,  182,  184. 

arrangement  of,  183. 
Asbestos,  277. 

Asia,  danger  of  yellow  fever  to,  305. 
Aspiration  of  air,  187. 
"Assembly,"  premature,  251. 
"Attention,"  position  of,  243. 
Austerlitz,  prisoners  after,  172. 

Back-pressure  in  soil-pipe,  236. 
Bacon,  113. 
Bacteria,  6. 

conditions  affecting,  7.  ' 

ice,  in,  288. 

minuteness  of,  7,  311. 

omnipresence  of,  7. 
Bacterial  "jelly, "275. 
Bactericides,  334. 
Badges,  corps,  46. 

regimental,  46. 
Bakery  fund,  119. 

subsistence,  119. 

traveling,  120. 

Baking-powder,  to  make,  124. 
Bandolier,  260. 
Barracks,  164  et  seq. 

bamboo,  166. 

conditions  essential  in,  166. 

construction  of,  166. 

inspection  of,  194,  363. 

light  and  air  in,  167,  178. 

materials  for,  165,  166. 

sanitation  of,  194. 


371 


372 


INDEX 


Barracks,  space,  extra,  in,  195. 

tropical,  166. 

two-story,  166,  180. 

ventilation  of,  178,  179,  185,  187 

et  seq. 

Bathing,  341,  342. 
Beans,  130. 

Beds  and  steam  coils,  195. 
Beef,  106. 

bad,  signs  of,  107. 

cattle,  weight  of,  106. 

corned,  115. 

fresh,  character  of,  107. 

serving,  loss  in,  106. 

supply  in  the  field,  108. 

tropics,  108. 
Beef-extract,  103. 
Beer-drinking,  151. 
Belts  and  suspenders,  69. 

cholera,  77,  355. 
Beri-beri,  148,  328. 

uncured  rice  and,  149. 
Beverages,  control  of,  in  camp,  311. 
Birth-marks,  38. 
Bivouacs,  156,  199,  200. 

wind-breaks  in,  203. 
Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  the,  169,  172. 
Blanket,  76. 
Blanket-roll,  258. 
Blister  of  the  foot,  75,  340. 
Boiling  point,  the,  111. 
Bones  and  muscles,  relations  of,  27. 

pressure  upon  the,  27. 
Boots,  74.- 
Bran,  wheat,  121. 
Bread,  119. 

alum  in,  125. 

bulk  of,  97. 

good,  120. 

heavy,  125. 

hot  and  cold,  120. 

ration  of,  120. 

sour  or  stale,  126. 

transportation  of,  126. 

weight,  when  taken,  120. 
Bread-baking,  camp  methods,  126. 
Bread-making,  methods  of,  123. 

weight  gained  in,  119. 
Breeches,  66,  67. 

influence  of,  in  marching,  245. 
Brick,  building,  165. 
Bromine  a  sterilizer,  272. 
Brush  about  marshes,  161. 
Building  materials,  165. 


Buildings,  elaborate,  167. 

Bunions,  38. 

Butter,  ration  of,  140. 

Cactus,  an  antiscorbutic,  147. 

to  clarify  water,  271. 
Camp-followers  registration  and  vac- 
cination of,  326. 
Campho-phenol  a  culicide,  300. 
Camps,  199. 

Camps,  abandoned,  214. 
cholera  in,  320. 
typhoid  fever  in,  317. 

amusement  in,  214,  346. 

crowded,  343. 

instruction,  of,  200,  214. 

occupation  in,  214,  347. 

permanent,  199. 

police  of,  345. 

recruits  for,  42. 

selection  of,  200. 

streams  and,  201. 

wet,  157. 

winter,  212. 

woods,  in,  162,  203. 
Candles,  vitiation  of  air  by,  174. 
Canned  food,  143. 

meat,  143. 

Cans,  food,  gas  in,  143. 
shape  of,  144. 
trade  weight  of,  144. 
Canteen  sterilizer,  285. 
Canteen,  Post,  see  Post  Exchange. 
Canton  flannel,  53. 
Canvas  clothing,  54,  76. 
Cap,  57. 

Cape-tent,  Mason's,  206. 
Capillary  action  on  seal,  236. 
Carbohydrates,  82. 
Carbolic  acid  as  disinfectant,  334. 
Carbon  dioxide,  171,  174,  176. 

test  for,  177. 
Carbon  monoxide,  175. 

sources  of,  175. 
Carbonic  acid,  see  Carbon  dioxide. 

impurity,  176. 
Care  of  troops,  1. 
Carriers,  diphtheria,  325. 

typhoid  fever,  317. 
Casemates,  166. 
Casks,  charred  for  water,  272. 
Cats,  bearers  of  contagion,  325. 
Cattle,  weight  of,  for  beef,  106. 
Cattle,  over-driven,  118. 


INDEX 


373 


Cattle-plague  in  food  animals,  117. 

Cellar  floors  and  walls,  165. 

Cesspools,  240. 

Chafes  and  blisters,  75. 

Chamois  jacket,  78. 

Character  of  recruits,  9. 

Charbon  in  food  animals,  117. 

Charcoal,  animal  and  vegetable,  277. 

Cheerfulness  a  martial  quality,  346. 

Cheese,  144. 

decomposition  of,  145. 

dietetic  value  of,  144. 

margarine,  145. 
Chest  circumference,  24. 

constriction  of,  27. 

integrity  of  organs  in,  35. 

measurement,  23,  24. 

mobility,  23,  24,  34. 

pressure  upon,  in   marching,  287. 

unrestrained,    in    marching,   247, 

257. 

Chimney,  smoky,  191. 
Chloride  of  lime,  disinfectant,  333. 
Chlorine,  disinfectant,  333. 
Cholera,  320. 

acids  against,  321. 

acidulated  beverages  in,  322. 

bacilli  of,  in  the  soil,  320. 

belt,  355. 

disinfection  in,  321. 

flies  in,  322. 

inoculation  against,  322. 

infection,  modes  of,  in,  320,  321. 

potassium  permanganate  against, 
272. 

predisposition,  to,  322. 
Cisterns,  262,  276. 

mosquito  guards  for,  262. 

overflow  pipes  of,  262. 
Clarification  of  water  by  cactus,  271. 

by  tannin,  271. 
Clark's  process,  269. 
Clay  and  clay  slates  as  sites,  159. 
Cleanliness  in  campaign,  251. 

inspection  for  personal,  65,  341. 
Cloth,  tests  for,  54. 
Clothing,  46. 

chemical  and  heat  rays  and,  98. 

color  of,  47. 

distinctive  markings  of,  46. 

extra,  in  cold  climates,  77. 

heat  and,  48. 

infected,  321. 

materials  for,  50. 


Clothing,  militia,  in  the,  61. 

odor  in  relation  to,  48. 

paper  as,  78. 

repairs  of,  79. 

visibility  of,  47. 

waterproofing,  55. 
Clothing- roll,  see  Blanket-roll. 
Closets,  public,  233. 
Coat,  blue  sack,  60,  61. 

dress,  60,  61. 

service,  61. 
Cobbling,  73. 
Coca,  103. 
Coffee,  136. 

physiological  effects  of,  137. 

ration,  97,  138. 
Collars,  63. 
Color-blindness,  36. 
Comfort,  air  necessary  for,  179. 
Command  and  sanitation,  4. 
Common  tent,  204. 
Company  fund,  90. 

savings,  91. 

Condiments,  ration  of,  140. 
Conley  garbage  consumer,  227. 
Conscription,  15. 
Conscripts,  14,  33. 

inaptitude  no  bar  for,  33. 
Conservancy,  216. 
Consumption,  322,  323. 

causes  and  modes  of  infection,  323. 

cubic  space  in,  323. 

disinfection  in,  323. 

general  hospitals  for,  324. 

in  the  Philippines,  324. 
Cooker,  Warren's,  111. 
Cooking,  individual,  338. 

military,  importance  of,  141,  142, 

338. 

National    Guard    to,   142,   338, 
339. 

officers'  duty  towards,  141. 

shrinkage  in,  106,  109,  112,  135. 

teaching,  133. 

Cooling  by  evaporation,  59. 
Cork  hat,  59. 
Corn  meal,  128. 
Corned  beef,  115. 
Corning,  method  of,  115. 
Corns,  38. 
Corrosive     sublimate,     disinfectant. 

334. 
Cotton  clothing,  50. 

as  a  filter,  277. 


374 


INDEX 


Cotton  khaki,  51. 
Crematory,  field,  small,  226. 

spider,  226. 

Cresol,  disinfectant,  334. 
Crowd-poisoning,  172. 
Crowding,  fatal,  169. 
Cysticercus  in  food  animals,  118. 
Culicides,  300. 

Deodorants  and  disinfectants,  8. 
Development  and  growth,  26,  27. 
Diarrhoea,   conditions  causing,  348, 
354. 

protection  against,  355. 
Dietetics,  military,  87. 
Diets,  problem  of,  88. 
Diphtheria,  324. 

anti-toxin  of,  325. 

carriers,  325. 

disinfection  in,  324. 

sources  of,  325. 
Disconnection,  237. 
Disease  causes,  5. 

nature  of,  5. 

Diseased  animals  as  food,  116. 
Diseases,  water-borne,  289. 
Disinfectants,  8,  331. 
Distillation  in  camp,  349. 
Divides  as  sites,  160. 
Double-kettles,  112. 
Dough-test  for  flour,  122. 
Down-spouts,  239. 
Drainage  area  of  wells,  264. 
Drains,  157. 

foundation,  164. 

house,  229. 
Drawers,  69,  246. 
Dress  coat,  60. 

Drill  as  affecting  the  heart,  30. 
Dug-outs,  155. 

in  winter,  212. 
Dutch  oven,  126. 
Dwellings,  insanitary,  173. 

as  quarters,  184. 
Dysentery,  327,  350. 

prevention  of,  328. 

Earth,  dry,  disinfectant,  332. 
Earth-closet,  229,  241. 
Electric  fans,  193. 
Elevation,  extreme,  post  at,  160. 
Emergency  ration,  99. 

trenches,  241. 
Entertainment  for  the  men,  347. 


Eucalyptus  and  mosquitoes,  162. 
Evaporation  of  seal,  236. 
Exchange,  see  Post  Exchange. 
Excreta,  danger  from,  216. 

disposal  of,  240. 
Extremities,  functions  of  the,  20. 

Fans,  electric,  193. 

Fat  as  food,  84. 

Fatigue,  relief  of  sensation  of,  103. 

suits,  76. 
Feet,  care  of  the,  74,  340. 

chafes  upon  the,  252. 

disabled  by  marching,  521. 

flat,  38. 

wet,  70. 
Field,  care  of  troops  in  the,  337. 

ovens,  127  et  seq. 

rations,  92,  94,  104,  141. 
Filter,  forms  of,  275  et  seq. 

barrel,  double,  277. 

Berkefeld,  278. 

British  field,  280. 

cask,  276. 

Chamberland-Pasteur,  278. 

cistern,  276. 

commercial,  278. 

Darnall,  279. 

individual,  277. 

Ishiji,  280. 

sand,  275. 
Filters,  field,  objections  to,  282. 

materials  for,  277. 

renewal  of,  276. 
Filtration,  275. 
Fire  disinfectant,  331. 

management  of,  224. 

personal,  in  bivouac,  201. 
Fireless  kitchen,  111. 
Fire-pit,  225. 
First  Aid  packet,  361. 

responsibility  for,  362. 
Fish,  115. 
Flannel,  53. 

Canton,  53. 

Fleas  and  the  plague,  329. 
Flexion  step,  244. 
Flies,  breeding  places  of,  314. 

disease  carriers,  313. 

formalin  to  kill,  314. 

habits  of,  313. 

precautions  against,  314. 
Floors,  care  of,  196. 
Floor-space,  arrangement  of,  183. 


INDEX 


375 


Flour,  120,  121. 

damaged,  122. 

poor,  125. 

lime-water  with,  126. 

ration,  93,  94. 

storage  of,  123. 

tests  for,  121  et  seq. 

varieties  of,  121. 

weevil  and  mites  in,  122. 

"whole,  "121. 
Flushing-tank,  232. 
Flux  for  canning,  142. 
Foliage,  evaporation  from,  162. 
Food,  see  also  Rations. 

canned,  143. 

classes  of,  82. 

concentrated,  102. 

diseased  animals  as,  116. 

elements,  proportion  of,  in,  87. 

emergency  preservation  of,  118. 

force  derived  from,  81. 

fresh  and  salt,  96. 

minimum  supply  of,  89,  98. 

object  of,  81. 

substitutive,  146. 

water-free,  88. 
Foot-powder,  75. 
Forbes  sterilizer,  281 . 

lighter,  283. 

Force  derived  from  food,  81. 
Forced  marches,  248,  357. 
Forcing  a  seal,  236. 
Forests  as  camping  places,  161. 

influence  of,  161,  162. 
Formaldehyde  disinfectant,  334. 
Formalin  disinfectant,  334. 

to  kill  flies,  314. 

mosquitoes,  300. 
Foundations,  drains  for,  164. 

walls  for,  164. 
Frame  buildings,  165,  166. 
Fruit,  tropical,  145,  356. 
Fund,  company,  90. 

Galleries,  underground,  water,  265. 
Garbage  consumer,  Conley's,  227. 

destructors,  fixed,  227. 
Garrison  mess,  142. 
Gas,  acetylene,  175. 

food  cans,  in,  143. 

illuminating,  142. 

water,  175. 
Germicides,  272,  273. 
Germs,  5. 


Germs  in  water,  longevity  of,  293. 

Glanders  in  food  animals,  117. 

Glucose,  139. 

Granite,  site,  158. 

Gravel,  site,  159. 

Griffith  sterilizer,  283. 

Ground,  sleeping  on  the,  202. 

wet,  avoidance  of,  202. 
Ground-water,  157. 

to  lower,  157. 

Growth  and  development,  26. 
Guard-house,  197. 

Hair,  soldiers',  342. 
Hammer-toe,  38,  252. 
Hat,  service,  57. 

sportman's,  60. 

straw,  59. 
Hard  bread,  128. 

in  the  field,  97. 
Hash,  116. 

corned  beef,  115. 
Halt  en  route,  250. 

to  rest  at  a,  250. 

Hardness  of  water,  temporary,  268, 
269. 

total,  268. 
to  remove,  268. 
by  boiling,  268. 
by  Clark's  process,  268. 
by  soda,  268. 
Haversack  ration,  97. 
Head  coverings,  55,  58. 

in  the  tropics,  55,  58. 
Health,  air  necessary  for,  179. 

normal,  a  military  condition,  3. 

requirements  for,  2. 
Hearing,  to  test,  36. 
Heart,  the,  29. 

Heart  growth  at  puberty,  29. 
Heart-strain,  30. 

rest  after,  31. 
Heat  and  clothing,  48,  50. 

condensation  of,  by  clothing,  50. 

dry,  disinfectant,  332. 

health,  effect  of,  on,  354. 
Heating,      contamination      of       air 
through,  174. 

outlets  for  fresh  air  in,  188. 
Heat-stroke,  avoidance  of,  355. 
Height,  limits,  21. 

relation  of,  to  weight,  22. 
Helmet,  tropical,  59. 
Herbage  on  sites,  161. 


376 


INDEX 


Hidrosis,  38 

Hills  as  camp  sites,  201. 

Hominy,  131. 

Horses,  air-space  for,  172,  197. 

ventilation  for,  198. 

water  for.  286. 
Horse-flesh  as  food,  118. 
Horse-manure  to  breed  flies,  314. 
Hospital  tent,  208. 

tropical,  209. 

Hospitals,  admission  rate  to,  mean- 
ing of,  4. 

air-space  in,  173,  186. 

refuse  from,  241. 

water  for,  286. 
House-drain,  229. 
House  walls,  165. 

waste,  196. 
Huts,  camp,  213. 

care  of,  214. 

portable,  344. 

Smart's,  213. 

squad,  213. 
Hydrocarbons,  171. 
Hygiene,  military,  denned,  1. 

Ice,  287. 

Immaturity  in  recruits,  16,  337. 
"Immune"  regiments,  306. 
Imperfections  to  be  noted,  11. 13, 15. 
Impurity  allowable  in  air,  176. 

carbonic,  176. 

vital,  176. 
Inaptitude  in  conscripts,  33. 

in  recruits,  33. 
Incinerators,  221. 
India-rubber  clothing,  55. 
Inlets  for  air,  189. 
Inoculation  for  cholera,  322. 

plague,  330. 

small-pox,  326. 

typhoid  fever,  318. 

in  war,  319. 

Inspection  of  barracks,  sanitary,  194, 
363. 

for  cleanliness  of  person,  65. 

of  company,  sanitary,  363. 
Intelligence  of  soldiers,  9. 
Intemperance  in  a  recruit,  39. 

Jam,  ration  of,  135,  139. 

Japanese  training  in  sanitation,  368. 

Kerosene,  vitiation  of  air  by,  174. 
Khaki,  51. 


Kitchen  sinks,  224. 

slops,  242. 

Knapsack  and  substitutes,  257. 
Kola,  103. 

Lard,  ration  of,  140. 

Latrine,  Reed  trough,  219,  220. 

Latrines,  see  also  Sinks. 

care  of,  233. 

wooden  conduits  from,  234. 
Laundry  slops,  242. 
Lausen,  typhoid  fever  at,  291. 
Leather  clothing,  154. 
Leaven,  124. 
Leggings,  67. 
Legs,  vigor  of,  37. 
Leprosy,  324. 

Life,   amount  of  food  required  for, 
89,  98. 

requirements  of,  83. 
Light  for  barracks,  167. 

tropical,  59. 
Lighting,  artificial,  contamination  of 

air  through,  174. 
Lime,  see  Quick-lime. 

chlorinated,  333. 
Lime-water  for  poor  flour,  126. 

test  for  CO2  in  air,  177. 
Limestone  site,  158. 
Linen  clothing,  50,  51. 
Liver,  protection  for  the,  77. 
Load,  soldiers',  256. 
Log  buildings,  165. 
Londonderry,  ship,  172. 
Lungs,  28. 

in  over-training,  28. 
Lynch,    Major    Charles,    quoted    on 
Japanese  Sanitation,  368. 

M'Kinnell's  tube,  192. 
Malaria,  298,  350. 

boiled  water  against,  304. 

cases  of,  unfit  for  duty  in  malarial 

country,  303. 
carriers  of,  302. 
dangerous  localities  for,  304. 
dark  races  liable  to,  302. 
Filipinos,  carriers  of,  302. 
from  infected  insects,  301'. 
malarial  cases,  301,  302. 

increasing    susceptibility    of, 

to,  303. 

infection  in,  mode  of,  298. 
infection  of  Mauritius  by,  302. 
military  control  against,  303. 


INDEX 


377 


Malaria,  mosquito  theory  of,  303. 

quinine  a  preventive  of,  353,  360. 

precautions  against,  general,  351. 
personal,  298,  352. 

soil  theory  of,  304. 

water  theory  of,  304. 
Manure,  breeding  places  for  flies,  314. 
March,  conduct  of  the,  246  et  seq., 
357. 

ambulances  on  the,  254. 
Marching,  247. 

attitude  of  restraint  in,  243. 

clothes,  effect  of,  on.  246,  247. 

expanded  chest  in,  246. 

flexion  step  in,  241. 

forced,  248,  357. 

halts  during,  249. 

in  heavy  order,  260. 

leaders  in,  246. 

mode  of,  244. 

music  while,  251. 

night,  249,  252,  360. 

obstacles,  to  pass,  while,  248. 

open  order  in,  249. 

physiology  of,  246. 

practice,  247. 

route,  248. 

sanitary  nature  of,  249. 

too  strenuous,  255. 

test  of  strength,  a,  247. 

trains,  avoidance  of,  in,  249. 

tropics,  in  the,  253. 

washing  face  before,  253,  342. 

water,  not  to  drink,  in,  253. 

weights  carried  while,  256. 
Margarine,  141,  145. 
Marshes  near  site,  160. 
Mason  cape- tent,  206. 
Maturity,  advantage  of,  41. 
Mauritius,    malarial     infection     of, 

302. 

Measle  in  food  animals,  the,  118. 
Measles,  326. 
Meat,  bad,  signs  of,  107. 

bake,  to,  112. 

boil,  to,  110. 

canned,  114. 

cook,  to,  109. 

damaged  or  diseased,  116,  117. 

decaying,  116. 

fry,  to,  112. 

preservation  of,  emergency,  118. 

roast,  to,  112,  230. 

salt,  113. 


Meat-biscuit,  103. 
Meat-pie,  116. 
Meat-supply,  107. 
chilled,  108. 
frozen,  108,  109. 
tropical,  108. 
Merino,  52. 

Mercuric  chloride,  see  Corrosive  sub- 
limate. 
Mercury    bichloride,    see    Corrosive 

sublimate, 
trap-vent,  237. 
Merriam  equipment,  258. 
Mess,  garrison,  142. 
Military  hygiene  defined,  1. 

importance  of,  335. 
Militia,  the,  12. 
organized,  the,  12. 

physical  fitness  for,  13. 
in  active  service,  14. 
uniforms,  60. 

volunteering  by  regiments,  15. 
Milk  and  diphtheria,  325. 
from  tuberculous  cows,  117. 
ration,  140. 

Mineral  oil,  see  Kerosene. 
Minors,  immaturity  of,  16. 
Mites  in  flour,  122. 
Mobility,  chest,  24. 
Morbidity,  3,  43. 
Mosquito  netting,  194,  299. 

theory  of  malaria,  303. 
Mosquitoes,  breeding  conditions  of, 

300,  301. 

domiciliary,   culicides   for,   300. 
hibernation  of,  300. 

on  shipboard,  306. 
protection    against,  by    aromatic 

oils,  298. 
eucalyptus,  162. 
head  nets,  298. 
screening  buildings,  299. 

persons,  299. 
sunflower,  162. 
operations  against,  in  Canal  Zone, 

305. 

Havana,  305. 

sick  to  be  screened  from,  302. 
suppression  of,  by  draining,  301. 
Mountains  as  sites,  160. 
Mumps,  337. 

Munson's  tropical  tent,  208. 
waterproofing  method,  55. 
Muscles  in  relation  to  bones,  27. 


3T8 


INDEX 


Music  in  camp,  215,  347. 

marching,  251. 
Mushrooms,  145. 
Mutton,  108. 

Neckband,  63. 

Netting,  mosquito,  194,  298. 

Night  marches,  249,  252,  360. 

Night-blindness,  147. 

Nitrates  and  nitrites  in  water,  292, 

295. 
Nitrogen  as  food,  83. 

Oasis  as  a  site,  160. 

Oatmeal,  144. 

Occupation  for  the  men,  214,  347. 

Odor,  relation  of  clothing  to,  49. 

test  for  impure  air,  177. 
Odors  depressing,  in  quarters,  171. 
Officers,  duty  and  responsibility  of, 

2,  173,  360. 
Officers'  quarters,  168. 

ventilation  of,  190. 
Oil  as  food,  84. 
Oils,   aromatic,  against  mosquitoes, 

298. 

Oleo-margarine,  ration  of,  141. 
Onions,  133. 
Orange  rays,  non-actinic,  60. 

underwear,  60. 
Outlets  for  air,  190. 
Oven,  field,  company,  126. 
Overcoat,  76. 
Over-crowding,  effects  of,  172,  344. 

test  for,  176. 

Over-driven  cattle,  flesh  of,  110. 
Over-marching,  255. 
Over-training,  lungs  and  heart  in,  28. 
Oxygen,  consumption  of,  170. 

as  food,  86. 
Ozone,  186. 

Pack,  soldiers',  256,  260. 
Paddy  fields,  159. 
Pan  closet,  231. 
Paper  as  clothing,  78. 

toilet,  220. 

Parasites  in  animal  food,  117. 
Pavilion  barracks,  166. 
Peaches,  134. 
Pease,  130. 
Pea-sausage,  103. 
Pemmican,  103. 
Pepper,  ration  of,  140. 


Perflation,  187. 
Perspiration,  cooling  by,  49. 
Philippines,  consumption  in,  324. 
Physique,  soldiers',  9. 
Picket-lines,  228. 
Pinole,  146. 
Pith  hat,  59. 
Plague,  329. 

prevention  of,  330. 
Plasmodium  malarise,  298,  350. 

destroyed  by  quinine,  302. 
Pleuro-pneumonia  in  food  cattle,  117. 
Plymouth,  Pa.,  typhoid  epidemic  at, 

289. 

Pockets  in  breeches,  140. 
Pork,  fresh,  116. 

salt,  114. 

Post  Exchange,  152. 
Posts,  conservancy  of,  228. 
large,  168. 

roads  in,  168. 
paddy  fields  near,  159. 
vicinity  of,  care  of,  159. 
Potassium  permanganate,  272. 
Potatoes,  132. 

modes  of  cooking,  132. 
Practice  marches,  247. 
Precipitation  in  water  by  alum,  270. 

by  iron,  271. 
Pressure  upon  the  bones,  27. 

chest,  257. 

Prisoners,  guard-house,  197. 
of  war,  air-space  for,  172. 

rations  for,  101. 
Privy  closet,  241. 

pit,  240. 

Probable  sick  report,  43. 
Proteids,  82. 
Prunes,  134. 

Puberty,  heart-growth  at,  29. 
Puttees,  68. 
Pyre  thrum  and  mosquitoes,  300. 

Quarters,  dwellings  as,  184. 

officers',  168. 

Quick-lime,  disinfectant,  221,  333. 
Quinine  destroys  plasmodium,  302. 

prevents  malaria,  351,  353,  360. 

Rain  and  snow,  to  sleep  in,  202. 

leaders,  239. 

Rainfall,  to  measure,  263. 
Rain-water,  relative  purity  of,  263. 
Range,  field,  company,  126. 


INDEX 


379 


Rat,  black  and  the  brown,  the, 
329. 

flea,  329. 

plague-infected,  the,  329. 
Ration,  the  (see  also  Food),  90. 

adequacy  of,  91. 

bread  in  the,  120. 

emergency,  99. 
British,  99. 

field,  92,  94,  104,  141. 

Filipino,  100,  101. 

garrison,  92,  93,  104. 

German  iron,  100. 

hard  bread,  93,  94,  96. 

haversack,  97,  105. 

management  of,  90. 

meat  in  the,  106,  113,  114,  115. 

multiplicity  of  components  in,  104. 

prisoners  of  war,  101. 

profusion  of  the,  141. 

savings  from  the,  91. 

study  of  the,  105. 

time,  relation  of,  to,  97. 

transports,  on,  101. 

travel,  100. 
tropical,  102. 

varieties  of,  90. 
vegetables  in,  92. 
weight  of,  104. 
Rations,  bread,  flour,  etc.,  opinions 

of,  95. 

bulk  and  weight  of  various,  104. 
compensatory,  98,  102. 
incomplete.  98. 
tables  of,  93-95. 
Ravines  as  sites,  160. 
Recruit  depots,  32. 
Recruiting  stations,  32. 
importance  of,  11,  42. 
officers'  inspection,  10. 
Recruits,  age  of,  41. 

blemishes  in,  11,  13,  15. 

camps  of,  41,  42. 

country,  40,  41,  338. 

drill,  injudicious,  effect  on,  30. 

examination  of,  34. 

height  of,  34. 

immaturity  in,  16. 

line  officers'  survey  of,  323. 

measuring,  precaution  in,  34. 

minors  as,  16. 

qualifications  of,  34. 

town,  49,  338. 

weight  of,  22,  34. 


REED,  WALTER,  demonstrated  prop- 
agation of  yellow  fever,  304. 

trough  latrine,  219,  220. 
Reenlistments,  10. 
Refuse  from  hospitals,  241. 

general  camp,  223,  225. 

garrison,  242. 

Regiments,  distinctive  badges  for,  46. 
Reserves,  none  in  American  system, 

18. 

Respiration,  170. 
Responsibility,  officers',  2,  173,  360. 

the  State's,  2. 
Rice,  130. 

to  cook,  131. 

Rice-fields  near  posts,  159. 
Ridge  ventilation,  193. 
Rinderpest  in  food  cattle,  117. 
Roads  in  large  posts,  168. 
Rooms,  air  in,  condition  of,  173. 

close  and  dusty,  172. 

discomfort  in  crowded,  171. 
Route  step,  freedom  of  the,  247. 

Sack-coat,  dress,  61. 
Salt,  common,  86,  140. 
ration  of,  140. 

food,  proportionate  issue  of,  96. 
Salts,  inorganic,  82,  85. 

vegetable,  86. 
Sand  filter,  275. 

site,  159. 
Sandals,  74. 
Sands,  to  fix,  159. 
Sandstone  site,  159. 
Sanitation  and  command,  4,  335. 

Japanese  training  in,  368. 
Sausage,  116. 
Savings,  company,  91. 
Scarlet  fever,  327. 
Scurvy,  146. 

food  in.  146,  147. 

mental  agency  in,  147. 

relief  of.  147. 
Seal,  water-closet,  227,  234. 

loss,  modes  of,  236. 
Seat,  privy  and  water-closet,  333. 
Sedimentation  of  water,  270. 
Serge,  53. 
Sewage,  228. 

disposal,  296. 
Sewer,  228. 

combined,  229. 

separate,  229. 


380 


INDEX 


Sewerage,  228. 

required  for  general  water-supply, 

239. 
Sewer-air,  229. 

control  of,  234. 
Sewers,  shape  of,  229. 
Shelter,  temporary,  203. 

tent,  205. 
Shelter-roll,  260. 
Shirt,  64. 

duplicate,  65. 

flannel,  64. 

multiple,  64. 
Shoddy,  53. 
Shoe,  70-74. 

features  of,  71,  72. 

importance  of,  71,  339. 

life  of,  73. 

militia,  for,  71,  339. 

selection  of,  71. 
Shoemaker,  company,  73. 
Sibley  tent,  204. 
Sickness    compared    with    violence, 

43,  44. 
Sick-report,  actual,  43. 

probable,  43. 
Sight,  testing  for,  36. 
"Silent"  water-closet,  232. 
Simmering,  111. 
Sinks,  217. 

administration  of,  222. 

care  of,  219,  241,  345. 

company,  221. 

disinfection  of,  315. 

emergency,  218,  241. 

kitchen,  224. 

march,  on  the,  217. 

pit,  240. 

shallow,  218,  241. 

trench,  221,  345. 
Siphon  closets,  232. 
Siphonage  of  water-closets,  236. 
Sites,  158  et  seq. 

impermeable,  158. 

made,  159. 

summary  regarding,  162. 

undesirable,  156,  160. 
Skeleton,  26. 

Skull,  character  of,  required,  36. 
Sleeping,  ground,  on  the,  202,  342. 

rain,  in,  202. 

snow,  under,  203. 
Slicker,  76. 
Slops,  disposal  of,  242. 


Small-pox,  325. 

disinfection  in,  326. 
Smells,  offensive,  in  apartments,  171. 
Snow,  water  from,  287. 

sleeping  under,  203. 
Soap  in  the  field,  341. 
Sodium  bisulphate,  sterilizer,  273, 

310. 

against  cholera,  322. 
typhoid  fever,  310. 
Soil,  154. 

permeability  of,  154. 

water  in  the,  156. 
Soil-air,  154. 

movement  of,  154. 
Soil-moisture,  156. 

effect  of,  on  health,  156,  342. 

horses,  156. 
Soil-pipe,  229,  237. 

calibre  of,  237. 

direction  of,  239. 

to  test,  239. 
Soldiers,  qualifications  for,  34. 

supervision  of,  2. 
Soles,  extra,  74. 
Solution,  substances  in,  266. 
Soup,  109. 

stock,  110. 
Space,  squad-room,  necessary,  169. 

superfluous,  195. 
Spider  crematory,  226. 
Spine,  heat  directly  upon  the,  355. 

protection  for  the,  78,  353. 
Spirit-drinking,  consequences  of,  151 . 
Sponge  filter,  277. 
Spongy-iron  filter,  277. 
Spores,  7. 
Springs,  262,  286. 
Squad-rooms,  air  of,  178. 

area  of,  181. 

capacity  of,  167. 

contents  of,  195. 

dimensions  of,  180,  184. 

disinfection  of,  after  typhoid  cases, 
312. 

length  of,  184. 

overcrowding  in,  178,  183. 

plan  of,  180,  184. 

size  of,  relation  to  air-supply,  181. 

space,  superfluous,  in,  195. 

veranda  for,  180. 
Stables,  soil-moisture  under,  156. 
Standard,  physical,  reduced,  10. 

state  troops,  13. 


INDEX 


381 


Standing,  fatigue  of,  250. 
Starch  as  food,  83. 
State  responsibility  for  soldiers,  2. 
Stature,  20-22. 

determination  of,  34. 
Steam  a  disinfectant,  332. 
Steam-coils,  position  of,  195. 
Stegomyia  calopus,   mosquito,   304, 

353. 
Steps,  marching,  245. 

British,  245. 

German,  245. 

Japanese,  245. 

Sterilization  of  water,  281,  310. 
Sterilizer,  canteen,  285. 

care  of,  284. 

field,  objections  to.  282. 

Forbes,  281,  283. 

Griffith,  283. 
Stewing,  111. 
Stock,  leather,  61. 

soup,  110. 
Stockings,  69. 
Straggling,  254,  359. 
Straw  hat,  59. 
Streams  near  camps,  201. 

pollution  of,  28,  296. 
Streets,  post,  direction  of,  168. 
Strength  alone  insufficient,  9. 
Sugar  as  food,  84,  139. 

physiological  effect  of,  139. 

ration,  139. 
Sulphur      dioxide      a     disinfectant, 

332. 

Sunflowers  and  the  mosquito,  162. 
Sunlight  a  disinfectant,  331. 
Supervision  of  soldiers,  2. 
Suspenders  and  belts,  69. 
Suspension  in  water,  266. 
Sweat-poison,  171. 
Symbols,  regimental,  46. 
Syrup,  139. 

Table  of  rations,  93-95. 

of  recruits'  measurement,  118. 
Tanks,  water,  262. 

materials  for,  262. 
Tape-worm  in  food  animals,  118. 
Tea,  137. 

care  of,  138. 

making,  137. 

utensils  for,  136. 

physiological  effects  of,  137. 

ration,  136. 


Tea,  a  sterilizer  as  boiled,  138. 

varieties  of,  138. 
Teeth,  recruits',  37. 
Temperature,  body,  49. 

regulation  of,  by  clothing,  49. 
Testicles,  38. 
Tent,  cape,  Mason's,  206. 

common,  204. 

conical,  204. 

hospital,  208. 

Mason's  cape,  206. 

Munson's  tropical,  208. 

tropical  hospital,  209. 
wall,  208. 

shelter,  205. 

Sibley,  204. 

wall,  204. 
Tentage,  210. 

color  of,  210. 
Tent-life,  general  economy  of,   211, 

351. 
Tents,  color  of,  210. 

ditching  of,  211. 

elevation  of,  342,  351. 

heating  of,  210. 

pitch,  to,  210,  212,  343. 

ventilation  of,  210,  343. 
Thermometer,  kitchen,  112. 
Thirst,  284. 

relief  of,  356. 

sensation  of,  254,  356. 
Thumb,  importance  of,  37. 
Tins,  see  Cans. 
Tippets,  78. 

Tobacco,  action  of,  153. 
Tomatoes,  134. 
Toxins,  6. 
Trains,  wagon,  228. 

on  the  march,  249. 
Transports,  rations  on,  101. 
Trap,    water-closet,  forms    of,    229, 
235. 

foul,  235. 

running,  235. 
Trap  rock  site,  158. 
Trees,  162. 

encamping  under,  162,  203. 
Trench  sinks,  221. 
Trichina  in  food  animals,  118. 
Tropics,  diet  in  the,  135,  136. 

light  in,  59. 

meat  supply  in,  108. 
Trough  latrine,  219,  233. 
Trousers,  65. 


382 


INDEX 


Tuberculosis  in  animal  food,  117. 
cubic  space  in,  323. 
general  hospital,  324. 
see  also  Consumption. 
Typhoid  fever,  308. 
bacillus  of,  310. 

viability  of,  317. 

beverages,  supervision  of,  in,  311. 
camps,  precautions  in,  against,  312. 
carriers,  317. 
cause  of,  310. 
contact,  primary,  in,  311. 

secondary,  in,  311. 
contagious,  not,  313. 
contracted,  how,  311. 
control  over,  308. 
danger  areas  in,  315. 
diarrhoea,   infectious  without    ill- 
ness, 315. 

disability  from,  prolonged,  309. 
discipline,  control  of,  by,  314. 
discharges,  burial  of,  318. 

spread  by  means  of,  310. 
disinfection  of  sinks  in,  315. 

of  squad- rooms  after,  312. 
flies  and,  313. 

immobility  of  camps  aiding,  316. 
immunes,  spread  by,  316. 
incubation,  spreads  during,  314. 
inoculation,  preventive,  for,  318. 
line  officers'  duty  toward,  315. 
mortality  in,  309. 
overcrowding  in,  316. 
Plymouth,  Pa.,  epidemic  at,  289. 
precautions  in  camps  against,  312. 
proximity  of  commands  spreads, 

316. 

sodium  tablets  preventive  of,  310. 
source  of,  308. 

squad-rooms  disinfected  after,  312. 
statistics,  military,  in,  308. 
sterilization  of  water  against,  310. 
troops,  among  new,  309. 
urine,  spread  by,  310. 
vigor,  drain  upon,  by,  309. 
walking  cases  of,  315. 
water  borne,  289. 

contamined  with,  310. 

sterilization  of,  against,  310. 
Typhus  fever,  173. 
Tyrotoxicon,  145. 

Underdrainage  at  posts,  157. 
Undershirt, temporary  removal  of  ,64. 


Underwear,  color  of,  64,  65. 

materials  for,  51. 
Uniform,  influence  of,  79. 

study  of,  79. 

unconstraint  in,  important,  62. 
Urinals,  233. 

in  camp,  223. 
Urine,  216. 

infected  in  typhoid  fever,  310. 

"Vaccination"    inapt    for    inocula- 
tion, 318. 
Vaccination,  325. 

of  camp-followers,  326. 
Valleys,  enclosed,  as  sites,  160. 
Valve-closet,  231. 
Vapor,  watery,  in  the  air,  174. 
Varicose  veins,  37. 
Variolation,  326. 
Varioloid,  326. 
Veal,  116. 

Vegetable  charcoal  a  filter,  277. 
Vegetables,  advantage  of  fresh,  131 

allowance  of,  131. 

raw,  145. 

shrinkage  in  cooking,  135. 
Vegetation  in  relation  to  sites,  161 
Veins,  varicose,  37. 
Venereal  diseases,  330. 
Vent,  237. 

mercury  trap,  237. 
Ventilating  pipe,  229,  237. 
Ventilation,  179,  185,  188. 

deficient,  196,  343. 

exterior,  186. 

horses,  for,  197. 

interior,  187.  , 

natural,  187. 

officers'  quarters,  190. 

ridge,  193. 
Vent-pipe,  229,  237. 
Veranda,  180. 
Vermin,  195,  197,  342. 
Vinegar,  114,  140. 

adulterants  of,  140. 

antiscorbutic,  an,  140. 

ration  of,  140. 
Vino,  action  of,  152. 
Violence  compared  with  sickness  in 

war,  43,  44. 
Vision,  standard  of,  36. 

testing  for,  36. 
Vital  capacity,  23,  24. 

and  height,  24. 


INDEX 


383 


Vital  capacity,  reduced  standard  of, 

24. 

Volunteers,  14. 
scrutiny  of,  15. 

Wagon-trains,  228. 

marching,  249. 
Wainscots,  195.    ' 
Wall  tent,  204. 
tropical,  208. 
Walls,  cellar,  165. 
foundation,  164. 
house,  165. 

treatment  of,  194. 
Warren's  cooker,  111. 
Wash-down  closets,  232. 
Wash-out  closets,  232. 
Waste,  house,  196. 
Waste-pipe,  229,  230 

direction  of,  235. 
Waste- water,  228. 
Water,  261. 
algse  in,  271. 
allowance  of,  for  men,  286. 

horses,  286. 
alkaline,  267,  349. 
analysis,  chemical,  significance  of, 

292. 

appearance    and    quality  of,    dis- 
tinct, 272. 
bacilli  in,  267. 
boiled,  274,  304. 

importance  of,  in  the  field,  284, 

352. 

sterilized,  281. 
taste  of,  274. 

boiling,  a  disinfectant,  332. 
clarification  of,  271. 
change  of  drinking,  268. 
cholera  and,  290. 
contamination  of,  266. 

distant,  291. 
contents  of,  inorganic,  294. 

organic,  294. 
deep  supply  of,  261. 
defilement  of,  287. 
deodorize,  to,  272. 
dissolved  contents  of,  266,  267. 
distance  from  a,  291. 
diarrhrea  from,  268,  348. 
disease-causes     detection    of,    in, 

291. 

diseases  carried  by,  289. 
distilled,  274. 


Water,  dysentery  from,  290. 

field  supply,  care  of,  285. 

filtration  of,  275,  276. 

find,  to,  266. 

flowing,  to  measure,  286. 

food,  as,  87. 

galleries  underground  for,  265. 

germs,  longevity  of,  in,  293. 

ground,  261. 

hard,  267. 

hardness,  to  remove,  from,  268. 

night,  to  save  at,  286. 

nitrates  and  nitrites  in,  292,  295. 

potassium      permanganate     with, 
272. 

precipitation  in,  270,  271. 

purity  of,  relative,  263. 

quantity  per  capita,  286. 

rain,  263. 

sea,  near  the,  265. 

search  for.  to,  266. 

sedimentation  in,  270. 

soap  test  for,  268. 

sodium    bisulphate,    to    sterilize, 
273. 

soft,  267. 

source  of,  261. 

sterilization  of,  281,  285,  310. 

surface,  261. 

suspended  substances  in,  266,  269. 

typhoid  fever  and,  289,  350. 

untreated,  to  be  avoided,  273. 

vegetation  in,  272. 

waste,  228. 

detection  of,  294. 
disposal  of,  295. 
Water-bath  in  cooking,  112. 
Water-cask,  charred,  272. 
Water-closet,  229,  230. 

fixtures  exposed,  233. 

public,  233. 

seal,  233. 

seats,  233. 

traps,  235. 

varieties  of,  231. 
Water-gas,  175. 
Water-proofing  clothing,  55. 

leather,  74. 
Water-supply,  deep,  261. 

field,  care  of,  285. 

military,  297. 

sewerage  required  for,  239. 
Water-tanks,  262. 

material  for,  262. 


384 


INDEX 


Weevil  in  flour,  122. 
Weight,  change  in,  after  enlistment, 
23. 

deviation  of,  allowable,  22. 
Weight,  height  in  relation  to.  22. 
Weights,  carriage  of,  255. 

double  schedule  for,  255. 

necessary,  342. 

pressure  of,  257. 
Wells,  262,  264,  286. 

domestic,  293. 

drainage  area  of,  264. 

driven,  265. 

sewage-tainted,  290. 

suspected,  292. 
Wheat  bran,  121. 
Wind-break  in  bivouac,  203. 
Winter  camps,  care  of,  212. 
Wood  alcohol,  poisonous,  153. 
Woods,  encamping  in,  162,  203. 
Wool  clothing,  advantages  of,  51. 
disadvantages  of,  52. 

a  filter,  277. 


Woollens,  to  wash,  52. 

Worsted,  53. 

Wounds,  asepsis  in,  361. 

Yeast,  to  make,  124. 
Yellow  fever,  304,  353. 

Asia,  danger  to,  from,  305 
avoidance  of,  306,  353. 
elimination  of ,  in  Canal  Zone,  305 

in  Havana,  305. 
immunity  to,  306. 
infection,  mode  of,  demonstrated 

by  WALTER  REED.  304.  353. 
mosquitoes,  extermination  of,  in, 

305,  353. 

prevention  of.  305. 
propagation    by    mosquitoes    of, 

304,  353. 

quarantine  of  persons  and   prop- 
erty for,  305. 
Yoke,  clothing,  258. 
Youth  in  recruits,  advantages  of ,  18. 
disadvantages  of,  16. 


1909 


-    * 


IA/6 


